Shift: FIA Class One Touring Masters
by 122 Generation
Summary: Follow teammate cousins Maria Lougheed and Leon Pinetree as they fight, in the highest level of touring car racing, for the prestigious inaugural title of Class One Touring Champion. Inspired by Shift 2: Unleashed, Super GT, and the DTM.
1. Prologue

**(I'm basing the main character from my book Pokétopia Endurance Championship. Go and take a look at the book cover to get an idea what she looks like if you want, and she's older in **_**this**_** racing story than the Pokétopia one…)**

**122 Generation (that's me) highly recommends you (the reader) search an image of the circuit map as it is a little stressful to explicitly explain what the track looks like.**

**The cover image is owned by BMW Motorsport.**

* * *

****FIA Class-One Touring Masters****

_**Chapter one: Prologue**_

**Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, United States**

The sound of rushing wind.

The typical Californian sun and clear skies, but with a frosty chill in the air.

Was it just the sun that made it seem hot, or was it more likely because of what was gathered on the circuit?

The slightly-cracked tarmac doesn't know whether it wants to be hot or cold.

"_Formation shall begin in a few minutes_," the team principal said. "_Why haven't you started up your engine yet?_"

"Oh! Sorry!" the driver said, surprised. How could she have forgotten? Was it because it was her first race? Was it because it was _the_ first race, and that she was in the moment an opening race? No matter. The driver pressed an ignition button with a gloved finger and then placed her hands firmly on the race wheel. The sound of 480 horsepower echoed throughout the cell of the car. Her right foot gently touched the throttle as her fingers brushed the shift paddles behind the race wheel.

A Mazda RX-8 safety car drove onto the track, and the cars followed one by one.

Through the turns and bends and up to the iconic corkscrew chicane of the Laguna Seca, it was very much smooth driving from there. There were only a few turns left, but shortage of straight, until the final 90-ish degree corner where the finishing straight was in sight.

Car after car remained in formation, not overtaking one another, as they all slowed to a stop in the same formation near the start line. Yellow flags waved constantly in the air. The Mazda RX-8 safety car had led the field for a slow lap up until this moment. As the cars slowed down to give each other some space, the RX-8 pulled away into the pit lane.

Twenty FIA Class-One-spec cars lined up on the starting grid. Thanks to the unification of DTM and Super GT regulations, international touring car racing could now officially be more diverse and integrated. Leading auto manufacturers now place their faith into their cars lined up on this very grid. Almost every car lined on this grid were works-or-factory supported machines: pure-bred racing cars engineered to race with the full support of the manufacturer.

Eighth on the grid lined up this particular BMW M4 DTM. The colours of pearl Crystal White encased most of the M4 DTM, complemented with the iconic colour of BMW i Blue highlight on the kidney grille and the underside, and metallic Frozen Black for the lower side chassis. Sponsors decorated: **BMW EfficientDynamics** on the bonnet. On the doors: **BMW EfficientDynamics Technology**, with M tricolour on the edges, and a tiny **M4 **part on the front kidney grille that came standard with the stock model. That and many more sponsors' names on select parts of the M4, like Puma and Hankook). Last but not least, the words **M Power** were neatly printed on the rear spoiler to give the car an efficient-looking appearance. Hence, the car was legally known as the **BMW** **EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**.

The driver of this BMW M4 DTM stared away at the Californian sky as racing officials continued to wave away the yellow flags.

The driver was a BMW factory driver, and unlike everyone on this race field, she was a 19-year old girl and professional race driver. With her blue-green-and-white helmet fastened onto her HANS device, and wearing the BMW works driver racing suit, she sat at the wheel of the EfficientDynamics BMW M4 DTM. It was _her_ M4 DTM, after all.

_Today marks the first race of the FIA Class-One Touring Masters_, she thought. _Imagine how much was invested into making this day happen…_

The driver's name was Maria Lougheed.

_Leading manufacturers around the world would just _die_ for this day to happen. Twenty cars line up on this first season, and each car is works supported_, Maria continued to think, inside that blue, green, and white helmet of hers.

She kept her left foot firmly down on the brake. Her gloved hand gripped the race wheel tightly, as her fingers rested on the shift paddles behind the race wheel.

All this tension circulating the air… all the cars seemingly standing still, and waiting for the big even to happen. It seemed like the longest moments in Maria's life!

Qualifying beside Maria was her sister car, the other BMW M4 DTM entered by the same team Maria was assigned to. This M4 DTM on the grid beside her carried the colours of the Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Company. The HBC logo decorated the two doors, and the car had a pearl white shine with four stripes – green, red, yellow, and indigo – stretching from the rear spoiler, across the top, and onto the bonnet to end at the kidney grille.

This **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM** qualified seventh, and would start about half a car length ahead and beside the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**. This was normal for starting a race, but Maria found it unsettling to have her teammate starting as such close proximity.

The sound of rumbling engines, quiet like a monster would in its slumber, complained impatiently as they waited for the race to start. Once the race started, the twenty powerhouses would be unleashed.

"_Hey, Maria_," her team principal said through her team radio. "_The last cars of the grid are around the final corner and are lining up on the grid too. Get ready._"

What Maria could see way ahead in the first row were two Audi RS 5 DTMs. One was coloured black, white, and red, with Need for Speed decals all over it. The other Audi had trademark Audi decals instead.

The heat from the engines made the atmosphere… blurry, and anyone could feel the heat what that emitted from the cars, even if they were sitting in the stands. As the last two cars took up their positions on the grid, the racing officials waving the yellow flags put down the flags. On the other hand, one of the officials had his yellow flag replaced with a green one.

"_This is it!_" Maria's team principal said.

Maria still had her left foot on the brake, but she waited for the signal. Through the space in her helmet, she fixed her eyes on the two rows of five red lights above.

The first two red lights blinked.

While her left foot was on the brake, this time she had her right foot stamped hard on the throttle. The sound of a loud V8 engine revved throughout the inside of the BMW M4 DTM, and outside for the entire grid to hear. She wasn't the only one, as literally every car lined up on the grid also loudly revved their engines. As everyone did this, the next two red lights, then the third set…

Maria's focus remained on the lights.

…the fourth set, and finally the fifth set… All ten lights were lighted.

In the briefest instant of time, it stood still. Absolutely still. It was the longest instant one could imagine, and it was conceivable…

All ten red lights blinked off.

Maria released her left foot from the brake pedal and only let the right foot floor the throttle. Finally, the sprinters with their powerful hearts would run the hour-long race. In Maria's case, the power built up instantly, and in a matter of a few fractions of a second she had used the right-hand shift paddle to accelerate up to 3rd gear.

All the other cars followed.

The two Audis leading the field, the **Need for Speed** and** Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTMs** respectively, tore away first, as they cleared Sector 1 in a matter of seconds and were driving away at the 180 degree Sector 2: the Andretti Hairpin.

Car after car after car followed through the Andretti Hairpin, but they were all extremely careful not to collide with each other, and yet still be aggressive.

Imagine the fight everyone would have to go through now. In Maria Lougheed's case, all she had to do was be consistent for the first bit, and then fight away when the competition began to heat up even more.

She continued the upshift, whilst hearing the deafening buzz of all the cars trying to fight away for a spot in the points, let alone the podium. Maria could feel the earth shake beneath her car, her heartbeat pulse loudly in her ears, and the shakiness that came from the sensitive racing wheel. It was a fight for her even control the car at this speed yet at the same time not causing an accident.

Her breathing rate, and she could not notice this, had quickened as she tried her best to fight for a spot ahead, and yet defend herself. Clearly, it was too much for the mind to handle. She could faintly hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, even if it was loud, because the sound of the M4 DTM's engine clearly overpowered all noise that would ever come near the world-class racing machine.

Maria entered the third sector and briefly heard the familiar run of racing tyres – _her_ racing tyres – rumble over the kerb and to the fourth sector, which Maria glided over flawlessly. Yet, rival cars began to fight with her neck-and-neck, but then again, there were lots of other cars fighting neck-and-neck for a higher position. The real trick was not to collide with anyone in the opening lap.

So this is what the start of the FIA Class-One Touring Masters feels like.

* * *

**Reader contributions start in the next chapter. It's already written, but I'd like to see readers' feedback first!**

****Athough **I'm a university student, this story had been in my head for a while, so I thought I'd get to it. Sheesh... and my final exams start in three days.**


	2. Granted Entry

**Again, this is a chapter I wrote in a rush to get it off my head. I really should be studying for finals right now. Actually, I'll do just that.**

* * *

_**Chapter two: Granted Entry**_

**Three months earlier**

**Coquitlam, Greater Vancouver, Canada**

"You can't be serious!" the 19-year old girl shouted, as she was unable to hold back her excitement. "Did I seriously get in? You're kidding me!"

This 19-year old, with brown neck-length hair that extended down and then upwards from behind her head (**A/N: yeah… go look at the Pokétopia book cover to get the idea what she looks like**), simply grinned at the great news she had received. Sitting across from her was a man in a blue-and-black suit, with black hair and steel-rim glasses. It was Michael Fong, the assistant director and general manager for BMW Motorsport, and it was he who delivered the news.

"BMW Motorsport has decided to offer you a factory contract and a place on the roster as a works driver," Michael explained. "I have the contract with me, and it's good for a year unless BMW wants to extend it. I doubt it, though. We do this because all our factory drivers are very busy this year. Oddy, don't you think?"

Michael carefully examined the girl in front of him. Like the legendary Ayrton Senna, this girl loved racing, but unlike Senna, this girl treated racing like a hobby. Yet, she had lots of potential to do so. This was silly, wasn't it?

This girl's name was Maria Lougheed, and she was a resident of Vancouver, Canada. Well, specifically the City of Coquitlam, but Vancouver was better known, anyway.

"I can't believe you can make a jump from amateur to pro so instantly," Michael shook his head. "How do you even do that? This is virtually impossible. You needed to have karting or Formula Three experience to say the least, yet…"

"Hey, I did do karting before," Maria interrupted.

Michael raised his eyebrows.

He placed the file onto the table that clearly outlined the details of a BMW factory contract, and beside the file was a pen. The two of them were sitting in the living room of Maria's apartment home and discussing the terms of admitting to the works team. While Maria quickly read through the contract, Maria's mom helped serve some light snacks for the two ("Thanks," Michael said).

After a while, Maria put down the contract and asked, "Where will I be assigned if I get on the team? Is it somewhere important…? Like the Nürburgring or Spa?"

Michael scoffed. "I think everyone has their minds on the FIA Class1 Touring Masters right now. You know, BMW has been focusing their efforts in this discipline alone. Once you've got a place as a works driver, you'll know if anyone will offer you a seat."

Michael reached for a cracker and bit half of it off.

"That being said," he added, "in return for your one-year commitment, we'll pay you a year-end salary of a reasonable 750,000 CAD (that's 657,000 USD, 420,000 GBP, 528,000 EUR), since you're only an 'instant pro' driver and starting out. BMW doesn't want to take too big a chance staking on you, so they'll offer you an entry-level salary. You'll get training from BMW Motorsport in Germany, and while you're training, I'll organise the runners for the championship and see if there's a seat. Any questions?"

Maria tapped her foot while pondering at the contract before her. Indeed, she did have several questions to ask.

"What about accommodation and travel?" she asked. "Do I have to pay this out of my own pocket as well? I know BMW would provide a car and all, but don't I have to make a payment as well at some point? Both going to Germany and taking part in a championship?"

Michael grinned.

"Your future team's main partner should be the one to sponsor you, so you likely don't need to worry about that. For now," Michael said, "I'd be more worried about getting an actual seat in a race car first. For now, I'll send you to Germany, and the other driver, for some works driver training. Otherwise, you don't need to think about anything else!"

It took a while for Maria to sign the contract, but afterwards, she signed the paper with a smile.

"That was easy!" Maria said.

Before Michael could react, Maria's mom called out, "Maria! Dinner's ready!"

Maria and Michael stood up and shook hands.

"Again, I'll let you know if there's a seat for you," Michael said.

Maria was about to say something but her parents said, "Hey, Mr. Fong, would you like to stay for dinner as well? There's plenty to go around."

Within minutes, Maria was having a short dinner with her parents, but there was no shortage of discussion, though, with Michael at the table. Maria found it strange, to have basically the head of BMW Motorsport eating dinner with her parents… since when does this happen ever?

"It's a shame Leon doesn't know about this," Maria said. "He'd love to hear about an opportunity like this! If nothing else, he'd be equally happy that I got in, at least."

"Oh?" Michael raised his eyebrows again, "and who's Leon?"

Maria seemed to be deep in thought, but Michael thought that was illogical. It was a question that could be answered in seconds. What was taking so long for her to answer…?

"He's my cousin," Maria briefly said. "Older than me by six years, so he's 25, a good university student and a motor enthusiast like me. He and I… we used to do karting together when I was 12, whenever we had the time to drop by Mission."

* * *

**Richmond, Greater Vancouver, Canada**

Two weeks later, Maria Lougheed received a phone call from Michael to head to Auto West BMW in Richmond, just across the other side of Vancouver from Coquitlam. The idea was that Michael _did_ find an open race seat in the FIA Class1 Touring Masters. More than excited already, Maria quickly commuted to Richmond to meet Michael. The commute took no less than an hour.

By the time Maria had approached the front doors of the dealership, she could see that there were several businessmen gathered near the receptionist's desk, and they seemed to be engaged in a deep conversation with each other. Ironically, the workers at this dealership found it strange and, to some long extent, uncomfortable.

Only after some careful observation could Maria notice Michael Fong

"It's nothing much," Michael said. "They're representatives from BMW Canada. Okay, I lied about the 'nothing much' part. It's important relative to us. Come with me, Maria." He motioned the girl to follow him to one of the dealership's offices. The staff of Auto West BMW, on the other hand, muttered amongst themselves.

Maria concluded they must be curious why BMW would hire such a young girl to be a race driver. Nevertheless, she dismissed the thought and followed Michael to the office where another man in a business suit waited for them. The waiting man had a late-thirties appearance and looked like the sort of person who took his job seriously, but liberally. Michael gestured Maria in and closed the glass door.

"This is Dr. Dan Hilbert," Michael introduced. "Dr. Hilbert is owner of the team that will partake in the FIA Class1 Touring Masters, and will enter two BMW M4 DTMs. It also happens that this team is operated by BMW Canada, since Dan himself is an admin within the company. Dr. Hilbert, this is Maria Lougheed, the new works driver."

"Let's get down to business then," said Hilbert. After he and Maria shook hands, the two sat down on opposite sides of the desk and Michael walked outside.

* * *

An hour-long discussion followed, where Hilbert and Maria talked about the supposed team that Maria was offered. According to Hilbert, the team he proposed entry had been granted factory-backing from BMW Motorsport, so the team would officially be a works team, with BMW supplying engineers and mechanics straight from the motorsport division.

Maria would be offered a seat in the BMW M4 DTM by Hilbert and BMW, in short. In addition, Hilbert's team banner would carry the name BMW Team Canada, since the team is indeed operated by BMW Canada and was works supported.

"As a factory driver, you're being paid by BMW to race for them," Hilbert said. "So that means we at BMW Canada will not have to cover your salary. Since we are entering an international event, BMW Canada will also finance your travel expenses too, provided that they are in concurrence with the team, obviously."

"Let's recap: in return for entering BMW Team Canada for the championship, we'll give you a car, a place on the team, and covered travel expenses as the championship progresses. There will, of course, be bonuses for any podium finish. But obviously, we want to aim for the title…"

"Obviously," Maria nodded.

The only left to do was to sign the agreement between her and Hilbert. BMW Team Canada… wow! Not only was Maria going to race around the world, but she'll be in a team with operated by her home nation! Incredible!

"Oh yeah, I left one thing out," Hilbert said, where his expression read he seemed to remember something. "We're a team, right? As this team enters two BMW M4s, I thought it'd be best if you got to know your teammate as well. I got him signed just yesterday, since I needed to make quick contracts. Michael agrees we needed drivers before the deadline."

_Eh? A local?_ Maria thought.

"Ah, there's Michael now," Hilbert looked up. "And there's the other driver, your teammate."

Maria turned around to see Michael talking with a man in his mid-twenties, 25-years old to be exact, but this man was extremely familiar to Maria. Too familiar. It was because Maria knew him. He had a lean build, slightly spiky metallic-blue hair, and a handsome face.

At first Maria showed an expression of shock as Michael and the other guy walked in, but upon walking in Maria got up quickly and hugged Michael's companion. Much to Dr. Hilbert's shock.

"Hi, Leon! Long-time no see!" Maria said happily.

Leon appeared a little stunned, but he hugged Maria back after. "Nice to see you again, my little cousin."

Michael was completely aware of the scene before him and Hilbert's reaction. Clearly, Hilbert was stunned and he just stared at them, which prompted Michael to laugh.

"I thought Maria already told you she and Leon are cousins?" Michael said with a chuckle, as he smiled at the shocked expression on Dr. Hilbert's face.

* * *

**I'm going to need a sufficient number of competitors to advance this story! Therefore, I'm offering a limited number of up to eight more teams to participate, and these teams will be supporting roles in the story. In short, I'd like to see how the community would contribute. This is simply a test to see what readers' creativity is like.**

**The rules are simple: follow this guideline!**

**1\. Team: make a team name (with at least one of: (Motorsport, Team, Racing) in the name), and separately which country your team is based. It doesn't need the manufacturer's name in it.**

**2\. Machine/Car: Choose the model the team operates with. Each team must use two of a certain car. They're all of similar performance due to unified regulations between DTM and Super GT. Include a brief description of the colour(s) of the car, and the effect of colour (metallic, pearl, matte, etc)**

**There are six cars to choose from. The team will use two of the same model and the cars are as of 2014 spec.**

**DTM**

**Audi RS 5 DTM, BMW M4 DTM, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé**

**Super GT**

**Honda NSX-GT, Lexus RC F, Nissan GT-R**

**3\. Sponsor 1: The sponsor of Car 1. It has to be a real company. Also, it will be part of the car's name, and I will consider if it's a good enough name also. (Tip: you can use hotels like Crowne Plaza, retailers like Samsung or Armani Exchange, or tech companies like Blackberry or Apple, or luxury watchmakers like Zenith or Audemars Piguet, as long as they are reputable enough too. I don't recommend food companies, though, but I'll consider the entry, anyway.).**

**Examples: Red Bull DTM AMG C-Coupé, SONY Lexus RC F, and my own (BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM, Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM)**

**4\. Driver 1: Name of the driver of Car 1. (First and last, obviously, and will likely be used), with nationality and hometown/city (may or may not be used, as a national anthem is needed for those who win a race), and how old he/she is. Depending on how much effort you effort you want to input, you can choose whether your driver plays a major or minor supporting role in the story. Again, I'll limit the number of major drivers.**

**5\. Sponsor 2: The sponsor of Car 2. (Same idea as Sponsor 1)**

**6\. Driver 2: The name and/or nationality of the driver of Car 2. (Same idea as driver 2)**

**Send me your entry by PM only. Entry by review will be rejected because I don't want to get in trouble… but you can review to let in your interest! You can review to let me and others know what car you contributed! I'll allocate start numbers later. The teams will play supporting roles, so take them semi-seriously. If you did create it thoughtfully, let me know how.**

**I reserve the right to reject the team, driver, or car if I deem any part unsuitable. Oh yeah, and the story won't advance until the entry list is full.**


	3. The FIA C1TM Provisional Entry List

**Many thanks to those who chose to contribute a team. I'm just glad I'm on my university break right now, but it won't last...**

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_**Chapter three: The FIA C1TM Provisional Entry List**_

**One month later**

**Richmond, British Columbia, Canada**

There were a lot of things to prepare for the FIA Class-One Touring Masters. BMW Motorsport assistant director Michael Fong knew this. Maria Lougheed and her cousin Leon Pinetree were away in Germany to improve their skills, meanwhile.

"They're showing good progress," the report said. "I don't doubt they can handle the M4 DTM well. My only worry is if their physique, let alone their muscles, can handle the G-forces of the car."

As he sat in his office, he received word from the FIA that the final entry list had been released. He had a printed copy, so Michael carefully studied it.

A week ago, Michael spent countless hours with BMW Motorsport entrepreneurs (Michael still represented his part as assistant director of the company) looking for potential corporate partners that would sponsor Dan Hilbert's team. Subsequently, Michael approached the giant Canadian clothing retailer Hudson's Bay Company for talks of support. After 48 hours of non-stop discussion, Michael and HBC reached a deal. Michael relayed this news to Maria and Leon after, and Leon was more than happy to take the colours of HBC for his car, as he had been a supporter of HBC.

That left Maria.

As there weren't any other Canadian companies who were prepared to support the team, Michael appealed to the BMW factory itself to support the colours of Maria's car. In the end, BMW AG decided that the colours of their EfficientDynamics program would be the best fit to showcase the brand. Other colours, like the M tricolour, came as staple colours since BMW Team Canada was a works team: a private team that had factory-support from the manufacturer. Hence its name.

It was without a doubt that the inaugural championship was going to be a fight. Michael knew enough about the teams entered into Class-One was at the least subject to technical support to being operated directly from the factory. Hence, whatever private team that was entered in the FIA C1TM had the name of their technical supporter added on officially. The start numbers had also been allocated.

* * *

**FIA Class-One Touring Masters Provisional Entry List**

**Each team described herein along with its drivers has been authorized by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) for entry in the FIA Class-One Touring Masters (C1TM).**

**W Racing Team: Audi Sport Team WRT (Belgium):**

**1\. **Driver 1: Alain Blanc

Home: Spa, Belgium

Car 1: Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM

**2\. **Driver 2: Matias Schulz

Home: Cologne, Germany

Car 2: Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM

**Accelerated Racing: Accelerated by NISMO (United Kingdom):**

**3\. **Driver 1: Luna Watson

Home: London, United Kingdom

Car 1: Oracle Nissan GT-R

**4\. **Driver 2: Oliver Davis

Home: Winchester, United Kingdom

Car 2: Microsoft Nissan GT-R

**Team Constellar: Honda Team Constellar (United Kingdom):**

**5\. **Driver 1: Percival 'Percy' O'Carroll

Home: Dublin, Ireland

Car 1: Pepsi Honda NSX-GT

**6\. **Driver 2: Beverly 'Carina' Hills

Home: Manchester, United Kingdom

Car 2: IKEA Honda NSX-GT

**BMW Canada: BMW Team Canada (Canada):**

**7\. **Driver 1: Maria Lougheed

Home: Coquitlam, Canada

Car 1: BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM:

**8\. **Driver 2: Leon Pinetree

Home: Vancouver, Canada

Car 2: Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM

**X-Tech Racing: X-Tech Racing with HWA (Italy):**

**9.** Driver 1: Shade Nighsworn

Home: Florence, Italy

Car 1: Monster Energy DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé

**10.** Driver 2: Aurora Nighsworn

Home: Florence, Italy

Car 2: Toshiba DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé

**NIWA Team: Lexus Team NIWA (Japan):**

**11.** Driver 1: Ken Kaihatsu

Home: Suzuka, Japan

Car 1: Petronas Lexus RC F

**12.** Driver 2: Matsuda Kaihatsu

Home: Osaka, Japan

Car 2: Shell Lexus RC F

**Red Emperor Racing: Red Emperor by NISMO (Japan):**

**13.** Driver 1: Keiji Nakamura

Home: Tokyo, Japan

Car 1: Veilside Nissan GT-R

**14.** Driver 2: Ryo Yamamoto

Home: Gunma, Japan

Car 2: Endless Nissan GT-R

**Runway Racing: Lexus Team Runway (United States)**

**15.** Driver 1: Terrence Moss

Home: New York, United States

Car 1: Costco Lexus RC F

**16\. **Driver 2: Lacey Morrison

Home: Bristol, United Kingdom

Car 2: Tesco Lexus RC F

**Rising Sun Motorsports: Rising Sun by NISMO**

**17\. **Driver 1: Haru Matsubara

Home: Tsushima, Japan

Car 1: Mabuchi Motor Nissan GT-R

**18\. **Driver 2: Taji Ishida

Home: Ichinomiya, Japan

Car 2: Isuzu Motors Nissan GT-R

**Pending…**

**19\. Pending…**

**20\. Pending…**

* * *

On the other hand, Michael was confident that Maria and Leon could handle the pressure. There may be a great number of racers, but most of them averaged an age of 24, which was just a few years above rookie age. The most experienced, Michael knew, were probably the WRT drivers, seeing they were the ones who had an incredible reputation, especially with the Belgian Audi Club. Nevertheless, Michael was confident that with works support, in no small part due to Dr. Hilbert, his BMW team would have a huge impact.

_This entry list looks strong_, he thought. _Oh, I better get Dr. Hilbert to have Maria and Leon complete laps with the M4 DTM when they can._

Michael Fong picked up office phone to make an international phone call.

* * *

**Nürburgring, Ahrweiler, Germany**

Elsewhere Maria Lougheed, dressed in a white racing suit decorated with BMW factory colours (a works driver suit), was busy racking up tens and tens of test laps with a deep metallic yellow BMW M4 (for those who care, it's technically called 'Austin Yellow'). There was to be no traction control, much to Maria's disbelief as she had grown used to always driving with traction control back in Canada. But as Leon always reminded her, she had done karting before.

But she had never driven a car that was so _slippery_.

Underneath her white racing helmet with blue and green elegant lines designed on it (it was Maria's personal design), Maria still had to get used to driving at high speeds in order to generate enough heat in the tyres.

If Maria didn't get used to driving fast enough to get heat, she would either spin out or she would simply crash. Plus, she had no HANS device equipped (Head and Neck Safety), so a crash would be the last thing she wanted.

"How are you supposed to drive this thing?!" Maria complained, as she drove past the start line to have completed another lap.

"_What are you talking about, Maria?_" Leon's voice spoke through the team radio in Maria's ears. "_It just takes practice, practice, practice. I have a good feel of the car already!_"

Maria looked to her left-side mirror to see an orange-coloured M4 (Sakhir Orange) to see that car begin to overtake her.

"No way!" Maria complained. She looked ahead to see the apex curve for a 180 degree turn. Braking as late as she could, she changed gears to 2nd, curved the apex, and floored the throttle after, changing to higher gears on the way. Nevertheless, the other BMW M4 overtook her quite easily.

On Leon's part, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

One or two sections later, Hilbert's voice spoke through both Maria's and Leon's radios, "_Okay, my children, that's enough practice with the cars, I think. I just got word Michael made a phone call suggesting you get practice with the touring car. BMW Motorsport has provided us with one BMW M4 DTM we can practice with, so you two can get a good feel with the car._"

"_Roger_," Leon said.

"Roger," Maria followed. "Did you say it was _Michael_ who made that phone call?"

"_Yep._"

It was fortunate that BMW had a private testing facility at the Nürburgring, otherwise Leon and Maria couldn't have found a better place to test the cars, and the feel of a race track!

According to BMW, there were about three sectors divided into ten corners for the sprint variant of the circuit normally used by the DTM: the start/finish straight (extremely fast that ends with a dangerously sharp turn right of at least 100 degrees), Mercedes Arena (a difficult section that requires driving into a wide curve, almost like a hairpin, followed by two more corners), Circuit 2 (a 180 degree turn right), Bend no. 12 (a sharp left, then sharp right, for the fastest section of the Nürburgring), where the track would straighten out for top speed for the small break at ADVAN Arch (a small bend where races pass at high speed) and more straight.

But what Maria hated most about the Nürburgring circuit here was the section after ADVAN Arch, and the penultimate section of the circuit: the NGK Chicane. Racers had to either brake hard or brake early here because of the extremely narrow design and because of racers virtually travelling at top speeds. For Maria, she found it difficult to comprehend the brake force when she stamped on the pedal. She could feel the force launch her body forward, were it not for the seatbelt. Maria could even feel the car slide away when she braked and turned!

After NGK came the final section, which was another sharp but wide turn that led to the start/finish straight again. For some reason, this section was given the name T13. Given Hilbert's orders though, the section had to wait, as Maria followed Leon into the pit lane and eventually to the garage.

Dr. Dan Hilbert was already waiting for them.

"You've clocked acceptable lap times," he said as Leon and Maria stepped out of the cars. "The DTM car is in the garage. You can decide between yourselves who gets to drive it first, otherwise, we can just decide on a coin toss instead."

Leon and Maria took up the latter offer, so Leon tossed Hilbert a Canadian five-cent nickel. Hilbert put it on his thumbnail, and flicked it up. "Call," he said.

"Tails," Maria called.

Hilbert caught the coin, slapped it on his wrist, and revealed the image of the Canadian beaver. "Indeed," he said. "Go get yourself a HANS device, Maria. That car may be more physically demanding than you might think. You'll find one in the garage."

Maria walked into the garage whilst taking off her helmet and the fireproof balaclava. In the meantime, Leon helped the team push the BMW M4 DTM, white with BMW M tricolours, on it out of the garage, with tyres supplied by Hankook. At first glance Leon was impressed by the appearance of the car but lost his appetite when he saw how small the driver's cell appeared.

"Dan," Leon said. "This seat is cramped."

"Rest assured, Leon," Hilbert smiled. "We'll make seat adjustments when Maria finishes her run with the car."

By the time the car was out on the pit lane, Maria came back with the HANS device on her shoulders and helmet on. Her eyes widened at the sight of her future ride, and stepped to open the side door (on the left side, by BMW standard). If her eyes couldn't have gotten any wider, it did.

"_Air conditioning?_" she stared. "Do you seriously need air conditioning for a race car? I though luxuries weren't allowed!"

Hilbert laughed.

"You'd be surprised at how much heat output the engine produces," he said. "In the interests of everyone's safety and your own, air conditioning is deemed mandatory by ITR, and the FIA has approved this regulation."

ITR was one of the organisers of the FIA C1TM, alongside the FIA (who was in fact the sanctioning body of the series).

**Two hours later**

"You've been hogging the car for too long, Maria!" Leon complained.

"She's only done about 40 laps," Hilbert said. "Give her ten more and we'll hand the car over to you."

"_That's right!_" Maria said back on the team radio. "_I have to admit, this is an awesome car! But ow… I feel like my stomach is going to blow. My shoulder muscles are trying to cope with the forces. But you were right, doctor. This is a physically demanding car._"

Hilbert and Leon were standing before a racing monitor showing Maria's lap times. The TV monitor wasn't on, as there was no broadcaster present at the circuit, so Hilbert and BMW had to make do with what they had.

"_On the whole, though,_" Maria's voice seemed it was out of breath, "_I think all that training with the stock models really paid off. It still takes time to get used to the car, though._"

**ADVAN Arch, many minutes later.**

Maria sat in the race seat of the BMW M4 DTM. What used to be a comfortable leather seat in the BMW M4 was now brutally replaced by a solid race-spec seat designed for the degree of safety. The HANS device, now attached to Maria's helmet, rested solidly on her shoulders.

The insides of the car were virtually stripped of everything that wasn't deemed essential for the circuit. All seats beside the driver's seat were replaced with a safety cell to ensure the driver's safety to the highest level, never mind the race-spec safety harnesses that strapped from both sides of the waist to both shoulders. The gear stick in the M4 was gone. Gears were changed by shift paddles behind the electronic race wheel. One to shift up, the other down. The mirrors were of course retained. Apart from those, the inside of the BMW M4 DTM was a nightmarish appearance of wires, electronic parts, and carbon.

And, like any DTM machine, it was lightweight and extremely powerful.

"It's goes so fast…!" Maria commented. "My ears are burning! My head is cooking!"

"_Calm down, Maria,_" Hilbert advised. "_Focus._"

Still, at the speed Maria was driving the M4 DTM it was only a very short matter of time before Maria approached the NGK Chicane. After many seconds of straight road, Maria stamped hard on the brake, clicked the left-side shift paddle with her hand to reduce gears, and drove aggressively over the two kerbs. She could feel the force of tyres jumping over the kerbs until all tyres were on solid ground, and then Maria proceeded to drive past the last sector and through the start/finish straight.

As she drove past the start line, she saw a signboard held out on the side of the track, near the pit lane. It read "MARIA PIT". Okay, that meant that her time practising with the BMW M4 DTM was over.

Oh, if only she could have ten more laps!

"I still need to practise the NGK chicane!" she complained.

"_Leon's been complaining that you've been a hog, but he doesn't need to worry. You've completed the mandatory test of 50 laps in the BMW M4 DTM. That should be enough for you, and the fuel too,_" Hilbert said. "_Bring the car back in one piece, will you? Don't worry. The Nürburgring is on the race calendar. You'll have more time to practise at the 'ring when we return here._"

Maria sighed. After several more sections, past Mercedes Arena, Bend No. 12, ADVAN Arch, and the NGK Chicane, Maria entered the pit lane and reduced her speeds.

* * *

Leon Pinetree stood between two of the five pit crew members waiting for the arrival of the BMW M4 DTM. He had a HANS device equipped on his shoulders with his red and black helmet.

While waiting, he watched the team members take Hankook racing tyres, all wrapped up in tyre warmers, out of their wrappings and hold the rims in four positions: one for each tyre of the car. Accompanying each tyre holder was another pit crew member who each had a wheel gun in their hands. A ninth pit member waited with the air jack.

There was no need to say each of the nine pit members was wearing identical clothes! They wore identical BMW Motorsport factory suits, supplied by apparel maker PUMA, and helmets that showed nothing more than their eyes, with orange goggles.

"_Wait until Leon has gotten into the car_," Hilbert ordered.

The BMW M4 DTM pulled over to stop between the members of the pit crew. They heard the engine shut down, and Leon went to open the door.

"Alright there, Maria?" Leon said, as he helped Maria unbuckle the four harnesses keeping her attached to the seat.

"Waah…" Maria yawned. "I want to sleep."

Leon reached out a hand which his younger cousin took. Instead of getting into the car immediately, he helped Maria back to the garage where she could get some rest. Indeed, he had never seen Maria so exhausted, if not weakened, so he wrapped one of Maria's arms on his shoulders and walked back.

"_I think the car has taken its toll on her body_," Hilbert suggested. "_You should at least take a look at the pit stop process at least, otherwise you would have done half the practice you needed!_"

"I don't know. What do you think, Maria?" Leon looked down to see his cousin's face, even though his face was almost hidden by his helmet.

"Mm… okay," Maria turned to look at the car. Leon followed her gaze.

The nine members of the pit stop crew immediately got to work. The member with the air jack stuck it into an air hole on the car's left side where air jacks shot from below the M4. Almost simultaneously, the wheel gun members drilled their devices into the middle of the rims to eject the wheel. After the wheel gun members had ejected the wheel and placed it on the ground behind them, the member with the fresh tyre replenished the M4's need for new tyres. The wheel gun members drilled the tyre in afterward, and the air jack was pulled out so the car was resting on the ground again.

"See that, Maria?" Leon said.

"Mm…" Maria nodded away. But she did nod.

Leon smiled and took his cousin back into the garage to find a place to put her down. There was a bench inside the garage, so he placed her there.

Minutes later, Leon Pinetree was sitting at the wheel of the BMW M4 DTM. He had to admit, the racing cockpit overflowed with heat from the engine. He had this realisation when he opened the door to feel a burst of heat shoot out and hit his body.

"_Ready when you are, Leon_," Hilbert said. "_I'll get a first aid worker to see how Maria's doing. Heh, we might as well treat the team for dinner in light of our test laps today._"

"You bet," Leon replied. He reached a gloved hand for the button that would ignite the engine of the DTM car and heard the roar of the engine come alive. The car was ready. Leon hit the throttle, hearing the loud revs of the engine on the way, to leave the team behind and onto the Nürburgring. Now it was his turn to get to test drive the BMW M4 DTM!

* * *

**If you haven't contributed a team yet, or you really want to, it's not too late to send one now! This is only a provisional entry list, so there's plenty of time to contribute a team. Just send one by PM. Also, to those who contributed, if you're not satisfied with your sponsor, it's also not too late to change it, because this entry list is provisional.**


	4. All in a Day's Practice

**Now here is a chapter to introduce the other characters of the FIA C1TM. Thanks to contributors for providing me with rich resources!**

**I budgeted time away from university to create this chapter, so don't expect the next one to come anytime soon...**

* * *

_**Chapter four: All in a Day's Practice**_

**Nürburg, Germany**

In the Ahrweiler village of Nürburg, Maria Lougheed was doing a regular 10-kilometre (6.25 mile) jog, in order to improve her cardiorespiratory fitness. In the case of driving a racing machine, medical experts recommended that she and Leon do exercise regularly. Otherwise, their bodies wouldn't be able to cope with the demanding forces the car would bring, and their bodies could possibly suffer due to the amount of heat they had to endure as well.

That being said, a 10-kilometre jog was exhausting, but at least it wasn't intended to be an exhaustive exercise. It trained her heart and breathing, kept her physique in good form, and provided a good way to explore the village too! Paved road and elegant-style hotels were the decorations of Nürburg. At least these sights made the jog worthwhile.

She was dressed in a jacket, sweatpants, and runners; perfect and necessary for running. Maybe it would have been smart to have brought a water bottle along, but no matter. Maria could always buy one from one of the shops, even if they were overpriced. Oh well. This was Europe.

Throughout her jog, Maria would once or twice pass by restaurants and bars that would have televisions on broadcasting sports news – and in almost every sports broadcast she saw, Maria would see images of the C1TM.

No surprise either, since this was Nürburg, the home of the Nürburgring.

She kept her breathing rate steady, careful to not push herself. Maria guessed that if she was going to take to the wheel of a physically demanding car, the least she could do was train for what was coming. German-made cars passed beside her, while she continued jogging along the sidewalk. It wasn't a bad day to exercise, granted.

* * *

Elsewhere in the village, Leon Pinetree had rented a road bike from a local dealer where he could explore the village as well, not unlike his younger cousin. Wearing a light jacket and sporting a helmet and sunglasses, he zipped past many shops and cafés in the town.

While biking, Leon admitted that he had never slept so well last night after his test laps in the BMW M4 DTM. Given the physical demand of the car, the completion of the practice runs had left his body completely drained. On that night, he skipped dinner and went straight to sleep, never mind Maria's protests that he should have had something.

That didn't matter now. He had a hearty breakfast in the morning, and then went straight to training on the road bike.

He breathed consistently while matching his pace and pedalling. No way would anyone know that he was Leon Pinetree, BMW works driver for BMW Team Canada. It occurred to Leon at some point that BMW Team Canada might be the _only_ entry from BMW in the C1TM. If this was the case, then wouldn't the factory support this team all the way?

It seemed possible, but more likely above anything else. This was the Class-One Touring Masters! Who wouldn't want to give up an opportunity like this? But then again, the other BMW factory teams, along with the Audi and Mercedes teams, were away at the DTM. Was the C1TM perhaps too early? It was the inaugural season, after all.

After passing through the Arhweiler community, Leon turned off to follow a paved road trail outside of Nürburg at personal record speed. He felt his core muscles hurt, but Leon supposed it was only natural. Stressing out his muscles just might be beneficial to enduring the demand of the race car. The experience of the DTM machine was still fresh in his memory, and he figured biking might as well be worthwhile.

It was no surprise that almost all of the teams involved in the C1TM were works supported, but it seemed that – in order to prevent financial issues – certain teams and manufacturers had deliberately passed on the opportunity of the C1TM. If maybe just one season lived, perhaps more manufacturers would be inclined to join.

Leon kept biking on paved road, past small German château-like hotels, while keeping a steady pace. High above him, to his side, stood the view of the historic Nürburg castle. The castle alone was infamous for being situated on a hill within the Nürburgring Nordschleife (North Loop), where the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race took place. In Leon's case, he only stuck with a trail route within the village.

At some point, he ran into his younger cousin in front of the Nürburgring office building, near the racing complex. The two of them, partly tired out from the morning exercise, agreed to meet later for lunch. However, because Maria had barely eaten breakfast, she wanted to go straight for lunch anyway!

* * *

**Silverstone, Towcestor, United Kingdom**

Silverstone, near England's Towcestor, was widely known for being host to a number of major motor sport events. Indeed, many of the events it had been host to were prestigious. Be it the FIA Formula One World Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, the lot.

Sadly for Silverstone, they had been unable to secure a contract with the FIA to host the C1TM, losing it to Brands Hatch. It didn't matter in the same way, however, as Silverstone hardly ever hosted DTM events. Brands Hatch did that. Although there were still many championships to host, particularly Formula One, the loss of the C1TM left parts of Silverstone's schedule empty.

But one particular racing team, locally based in the UK, took advantage of this empty schedule and booked a full three days use of the circuit, however. For this team, who had entered in the C1TM, it would have been logical to practise at Brands Hatch, but it just so happened that another team had booked that circuit for a week – which would not be enough time for this team's drivers to get used to their new cars.

The team was called Accelerated Racing, who had entered the FIA Class-One Touring Masters with a duo of Nissan GT-Rs. Getting the Nissan GT-Rs from the factory wasn't easy. These GT-Rs were special racing machines – classed GT500 – created purposely for the Japanese Super GT, and now with the combined efforts of the DTM and Super GT, it was possible for the GT-R GT500 to hit the broader international stage.

Sponsors' names had yet to be decided for this team, along with its stickers for the car, but Accelerated Racing had a handful of candidates to decide from. For now, all they focused on was letting their drivers' practise. Two technology-oriented companies, Microsoft and Oracle, had offered to support the team and a deal was in place, but the team itself had yet to confirm the deal.

A young woman aged 20, with raven hair and white bangs, stood at the pit garage in front of the blankly white GT500-spec Nissan GT-R. She had to admit she was impressed already by the fearsome look of the car, and couldn't wait to discover what kind of power rested underneath the bonnet.

After all, the woman was the select driver of this car. Dressed in her race suit, helmet, and HANS device, Luna Watson could not wait to have her hands on the wheel. Having had victories in Formula Three, Luna became known as the youngest British female to have ever jumped to professional status. In fact, her efforts caught the eyes of Accelerated Racing. It was a huge surprise for her to receive a phone call from a professional team, which happened in her London home, so she ended up signing a short-term contract with them.

Just that morning, Luna heard the news that – apart from Accelerated Racing gaining entry into the C1TM with Nissan – Nissan had announced that Nismo (the motorsport division and developer of the GT-R GT500) would be extending factory support to all Nissan customer teams.

So, along with the two racing cars, Nismo had sent several of their own engineers to assist Accelerated Racing with car development!

"The car is almost ready, Ms. Watson," one of the team mechanics said to her. "Would you like to help us bring it out?"

"Certainly," she answered. It was not the time to continue staring at the car, there would be plenty of time for that. No, it was definitely time to test the car itself. Luna stepped forward to help the mechanics grab on any part of the car and bring it outside.

When the car was outside Luna watched, with arms crossed, four pit stop crew members roll out a set of four tyres toward the Nissan, each wrapped in a tyre warmer. The four team members extracted all four tyres at the same time and positioned themselves at each wheel, with four additional team members each holding a wheel gun also in position. A ninth member, holding the air jack, stuck the pump into a hole in the GT-R and pneumatic air jacks sprouted from beneath, lifting the car up.

This provided opportunity for the other four tyre holders and four wheel gun members to perform their tasks: the wheel gun members to extract the car's current tyres and for the tyre holders to replace the empty spot with a fresh, hot, tyre. The 'jack' pulled the air jack out of the car, and the GT-R was once again resting on solid ground.

Luna opened the door of the Nissan, and crawled in the race cell in order to make adjustments to the race seat. When she got in to get a comfortable seating, a team engineer went to help her with the safety harnesses.

"_Fire it up!_" the voice of her team principal said through the radio. "_Over 500 horsepower resting as a race car, and has a desirable reputation as a road car. Let's make these test laps count._"

"You got it," Luna said back.

She ignited the engine of the Nissan GT-R, hearing the sound of power coming to life, and the loud – **loud **– revs of the engine accelerating the car from 0-60 km/h (40 mph) in a matter of seconds no more than four. The speed was such to keep within the speed limit within the pit lane.

But when Luna, looking through the gap in her race helmet, got to the end of the pit lane, she could basically fly off onto the track – and unleash the power of the GT500-spec Nissan GT-R.

_It's fast!_ Luna tried to think, but the sheer strength and cornering speed of the car meant Luna couldn't put her thoughts off the track for merely half a second. Otherwise, she could make an error and – thus – could result in a slower lap time.

_Maggots, Becketts, _she thought, as she bypassed the Maggots-Becketts complex of the circuit at a remarkable speed. Maggots and Becketts were known to be one of the most demanding corners in motor sport, and Luna was even more surprised at how quickly the GT-R could get past it.

* * *

**Brands Hatch, Swanley, United Kingdom**

Elsewhere near the municipality of Swanley in England, at the Brands Hatch Circuit which was to become future host to the C1TM, a testing session was already underway for the Constellar team. Irishman Percival O'Carroll, otherwise known as Percy, had completed half of the test runs needed in his Honda NSX-GT, supplied by the Honda factory in Japan.

His team, Team Constellar, had been lucky. There wasn't a huge demand for Hondas in the C1TM, but Team Constellar had secured a purchase of two Honda NSX-GTs for entry into the touring car series. In addition, as the C1TM was a major international event organised by the FIA, it became unofficial common knowledge that each team needed factory support. Honda hadn't considered entering a works team into the C1TM, but since Constellar had purchased two cars for this purpose, they thought they might as well send out a team of mechanics and engineers from Japan.

It took at least 500 hours to build a Honda NSX-GT by hand, but within weeks Team Constellar staff and the Honda mechanics had the two Hondas race-ready.

Oddly, Team Constellar had never considered signing rookies for such a high-end championship such as the C1TM, but in the end they did. Percy O'Carroll wasn't the best thought in mind, as he had an infamous reputation among other race drivers as a ladies' man. Oh well. Like James Hunt in 1976, Team Constellar staked their chances on Percy.

So, at Brands Hatch, Percy was enjoying himself. In the race seat, wearing the team racing suit decorated with nothing more than minor sponsors' names, he drove around corners of the Brands Hatch 'Indy' variant. That being said, the team had yet to announce the primary sponsor of his Honda. Percy knew, though, that they had to be quick – without a sponsorship deal, there was a good chance that the organising wouldn't even allow Constellar's entry. The partner, it seemed, was likely going to be Pepsi Co., the food and beverage company. That meant, should the deal be secured, his Honda would be carrying the Pepsi colours and sponsors too, as well as a lovely addition to his race suit.

"_You're clocking good lap times_," his radio sounded through his helmet. "_One faster after the other – you might even end up being faster than the Stig!_"

Percy laughed, as he passed the finishing straight of the Indy circuit, and thought of the iconic driver from the UK's TV show 'Top Gear'. "Okay, I may have just turned professional, but that doesn't mean could be faster than _him_. Even so…"

The road ahead dipped into a banked turn, which was a certain section Percy practised countless times already. He focused on the race line, keeping the optimal speed, and curved smoothly along the kerbs – and hearing the familiar rumbling of tyres against them.

The idea was that Percy would be complete 30 laps of testing with the Honda NSX-GT, a little short for Percy's taste, but probably too long to satisfy the team's demand for testing a brand-new car. Should any problems arise, they would be there to fix the car before the season started.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the pit garage where Team Constellar was monitoring Percy's progress, the team principal was already facing a rather irritable issue at the moment. It personally involved the second driver in the team – Carina Hills.

"What," Carina said menacingly, "did I tell you, to NOT USE MY FULL NAME in the entry list?! Be it official, provisional, or not, I forbid it! There is no way I'm going to race in the championship while that name exists! Change it!"

The team principal sighed. "Ms. Hills, we've had this discussion before. You know very well that is impossible to change, nor would it be smart to begin with. The FIA won't allow it, you know that. If we entered you into the championship under your other name, there would be a lot of legal issues – issues that we at Constellar aren't willing to deal with."

"But – but –" Carina stammered, but the team principal waved her off.

Carina sighed and turned away. She brushed her black waist-length hair along her back with her hands and pulled out a green hair tie from her pocket – green to match her eyes. After tying up her waist-length hair to a size small enough, she reached for the HANS device on the counter, put it over her shoulders, and then put her helmet over her head, whilst fixing it to the HANS device. Never mind the racing suit she was wearing already!

Team Constellar had already taken the liberty of pushing the other Honda NSX-GT onto the pit lane and all Carina had to do was get into the car to conduct test laps. She got in, with the Constellar mechanic helping her with the safety harness, and fired up the engines of the car.

It wouldn't be long before Percy had turned into the pit lane either.

"_Okay, go, go, go!_" the team principal's voice demanded via radio.

In the rear-view mirror (not the side ones) Carina eyed the other Honda NSX-GT entering the pit lane. Oh well. That signalled that it was definitely her turn to begin test laps! She ignited the engine and immediately _floored_ the throttle to enter the pit lane from the garage.

* * *

**Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy**

An hour ahead of the UK, another series of tests was almost completed.

Imola, as quoted by Top Gear, was one of the most dangerous tracks in the world. The physical demand of the track was such that it could rival the Nürburgring's Nordschleife. Like the Nordschleife, the circuit was ringed with steel barriers and green trees. At high speeds, mistakes could trigger accidents intense enough to shatter entire cars. The wrong mistake could result in a fatal accident.

It was fortunate that the two Nighsworn siblings had plenty of experience in the racing field. Shade Nighsworn, the 24-year old from the classic Tuscan city of Florence, _lived_ for racing – although he preferred not to talk too much about it. His sister, Aurora, equally _lived_ for racing – like the one time she got to drive a Fiat 500 at Ferrari's test track in Maranello.

Shade's father was test and development driver for the Lotus F1 Team back in the day, and was there the day Ayrton Senna died at Imola in 1994. His father was hesitant to talk about the subject; although he had never met Senna, he had the liberty to test some of the Lotus machines before they were handed off to the F1 legend.

Even though Imola was extremely dangerous, Shade and Aurora knew the circuit well enough that they would be far less likely to have an accident, despite the speeds they were going at in their DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupés. The HWA Team – developer of the Mercedes DTM machines – was generous enough to supply employees to X-Tech Racing (the team the Nighsworns had enrolled in). Mercedes-Benz AMG had provided their support for the team as well, although they had concentrated putting their efforts in the DTM.

Equivalently, the C1TM was of no interest to Mercedes-Benz. It was only when X-Tech Racing, the team based locally in Italy, purchased two of the DTM C-Coupés from HWA for the C1TM's purpose did HWA and – consequently – Mercedes-Benz offer factory support.

The HWA engineers were currently monitoring Shade's completion of the test runs with the DTM C-Coupé. With sighs of relief, they saw the car arrive safely to the pit lane and saw Aurora taking off in her C-Coupé leaving nothing but the sound of turbocharged 2.0-litre V4 engine power. Now, they had more reason to worry if the second car would survive!

Meanwhile, Shade Nighsworn had turned his car to the pit stop and switched off the engine. After unfastening the harnesses, he crawled out of the race cell and helped the pit stop crew push the car back into the garage.

"_That was a splendid run_," the team principal said. "_You've scored effective lap times throughout the course of this test run, and on one of the most dangerous tracks we know!_"

"It was nothing," Shade said modestly. "I only had to bring the car in in one piece."

After ten minutes with his helmet and HANS device off, Shade was standing among the HWA Team and AMG engineers, watching his younger sister complete test laps in the other DTM machine. There were multiple monitors on display to watch: live-timing monitors and onboard cameras, mostly, as there was certainly no camera crew to maintain coverage of the car.

_Be careful, Aurora_, Shade thought.

He cared for his sister, obviously, but even Shade knew his sister was as experienced as he was at Imola. The problem, however, was that neither Shade nor Aurora trusted Imola at all to be safe. Their father had raced there testing a Lotus, he told them, and he could never say he enjoyed it. Likewise, Aurora seemed to struggle a little with the demanding corners of the track.

It was fortunate that the C1TM, or even the DTM, added Imola to the race calendar!

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked one of the engineers. "How many laps did I do, anyway?"

Shade wasn't expecting a quick response, but the engineer replied with a smile, "I'm surprised myself you could do 40 laps of Imola. That won't dictate anything, but you should be able to survive just about any race at this point."

Shade didn't know if he should take that as positive or negative feedback. It could mean that he could _survive_ any race in the Class-One Touring Masters but wouldn't necessarily mean he could win a race. Was the engineer trying to play tricks with him?

"I'll say, your sister's clocking lap times that are pretty tight with yours," the same engineer reported. "So? What do you think of the car?"

Shade took a moment to think, just as his sister posted another new lap time on the live-timing monitor.

"I don't mind Mercedes at all," Shade replied (with his answer purely made from the get-go and from instinct). "The car's balance is good. It's not out of balance. There's plenty of power to go with it. I can see why this machine would be engineered for the DTM…"

"And how," the engineer agreed. "HWA says this was a recent change to their efforts when DTM and Super GT unified regulations. The car used to be eight-cylinder, but configurations to reduce costs cut the cylinders to four. Still…"

More laps continued to stack on the live-timing monitor. Team mechanics and engineers remained quiet for most of the time, watching Aurora's progress, with the X-Tech Racing team principal making occasional commands and comments to Aurora via radio once in a while.

* * *

**Nürburg, Germany**

Dr. Dan Hilbert was currently sitting in a private conference room at the BMW M Testcenter with Maria and Leon. Hilbert sat on one side of the table with three businessmen, Maria and Leon sat on the other. This time, there were many more files and contracts laid on the table, never mind the one-inch report Hilbert had beside his arm.

They had already been briefed by Hilbert about what they were to do before they got here. As sponsorship was required for almost any official race event, Hilbert had to decide which firms would be willing to help. In the end, it came down to the Canadian Hudson's Bay Company and the BMW factory's EfficientDynamics division.

So, before the meeting, Maria and Leon were given an hour to decide who would get what. But between them, it was strictly about who got the better-looking colours and who like which company more. Both preferred HBC as a clothes retail company, but they both liked EfficientDynamics because of its unique colours. Even so, the entry list had provided information who was getting what sponsor.

"I've taken the liberty of arranging representatives of HBC and BMW here, as well as a rep from the factory here in Germany," Hilbert explained. "You've had time to test drive the cars, so all that's left is to decide who will sponsor who."

"We've had time to think about it," Leon said. "I think we'll stick with what we decided earlier. I'll take HBC, and Maria will take EfficientDynamics."

"It's a pleasure to be your partner then," the HBC representative stood up to shake hands with Leon. "Let's hope for a good one."

* * *

**There we have it! Whew!**


	5. 500 Man Hours

**It's been a bit too long since I've last updated, I think. WAY too long. Well, I've been busy away at university and working on other stories, so... yeah, it's hard.**

**Here's to Luna TFK Watson, DeathX..., and spanky1988... for keeping up.**

* * *

_**Chapter five: 500 Man Hours**_

**Nürburg, Germany**

"Here's a little treat for you," Leon passed Maria a small cubic wafer. "It's a local German snack, but I've taken a liking to it…"

Maria unwrapped the small bulky wrapper to find – indeed – a multilayered wafer with a cream-like layer in the middle sandwiched by two more layers of wafer. She took a bite, and tasted a combined blend of milk, wafer, hazelnut, and cocoa…

"This is good!" Maria commented, and bit off another piece of the wafer.

The two cousins stood outside the BMW M Testcenter hours after their meeting with the sponsors. The sponsorship representatives had already left for their respective companies to give them the approval, which in turn would allow the team the go-ahead to decorating the cars.

"I sure hope the cars look nice!" Maria said, after swallowing the bit of wafer she chewed on. Leon on the other hand helped himself to a bottle of water.

"Well…" Leon scratched his steel-blue hair, and then sipped some more water. "The factory did release composite artwork of what the cars would look like. I think Dr. Hilbert had one in the meeting."

Like like-minded cousins with identical thoughts, Leon and Maria simultaneously walked back to the building to look for Hilbert. Indeed, Hilbert was still in the building and working in one of its offices – albeit being part of a test centre – so he was clearly busy when Leon attempted to phone his office.

"I need to have the DTM cars returned to the motorsport headquarters right now," he explained. "Unfortunately for you two, we need to build two new M4s customised to your specifications. It'll take time for the cars to be fully constructed – let's say, 500 man hours?."

As a result, the cousins opted to look around the Ahrweiler village together. At the same time, Hilbert gave the order for the two BMW M4s to be loaded onto a transport semi-truck for Munich. In due time, the cars would be pushed in to the semi-truck and it would begin its journey to Munich.

* * *

**BMW M GmbH, Munich, Germany**

With the deal confirmed between the works drivers and their sponsors, BMW Canada representatives at Nürburg telephoned the factory headquarters in Munich to prepare decorating the DTM cars effective immediately.

Although the race cars had not even arrived at all, there was no shortage of work to be done. For the designers and the factory workers of BMW Motorsport, who already had lots of experience in this field, they gathered the necessary equipment for decorating the car. For the designers' part, they had projected images of the car ready as well.

_The factory has already supplied us colours for the EfficientDynamics livery_, one of the designers thought. _As for Hudson's Bay… they have to supply us colours too!_

There were plenty of sketches of the same design proposed by the designers. Same liveries, different angles, same colours, different shades… It seemed that the colours were all good to go. The only thing left was to actually manufacture the parts…

"We better get to that," the designer said.

After hours of work, a series of parts had been produced for the BMW M4 DTMs that were to arrive at the factory. Specially coloured parts and sponsors' decals had been prepared for the cars, and were ready to be implemented onto the cars themselves. That being said, it was very much like creating a brand new DTM car, as every part would have to be replaced by the car's soon-to-be base colour. This meant, however, that the BMW Canada team would have to construct the cars with the parts given. Nevertheless, the factory was willing to do most of the building while the team acted as supporters.

For the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**, the base colour of the car would be a special pearl-effect Crystal White with linings of metallic Frozen Black on the chassis beneath the doors, with Sophisto Grey outlining the side doors and the entire car front to back, and the iconic 'BMW i' Blue highlight around the kidney grille and the lower chassis. Thin M tricolour stripes lined up the sides as well, from back to front.

The **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM** would sport pearl-effect HBC White as the base colour; slightly different from the Crystal White, but blander. In short, the exterior of the other M4 would be of this colour, with the trademark HBC stripe of green, red, yellow, and indigo lining up from the rear, stretching across the roof, and finally over the bonnet. It was a small, but neat design! Like the **EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**, this car would have regular factory sponsors like Crowne Plaza, Hankook, and Castrol EDGE.

The factory workers and the team members got to work. Given the timeframe needed to complete decorating the entire car, it was no wonder that at least three weeks were budgeted into decorating the cars, never mind the hundreds of man hours put into assembling the car itself!

They first began by taking the frame of the car and setting it into position.

**Honda UK, London, United Kingdom**

The workshop that supported the Constellar team happened to be operated by the Honda UK firm itself. As the workers in Japan – specifically, the Honda Racing Corporation – were providing direct works support to the team, the least Honda UK could do was allow HRC use of their facilities.

The two Honda NSX-GT, which were wholly based on the Acura NSX model owned by Honda, were present in the workshop. Colours tailored to the car's needs had to be met, so the factory had to supply the required colours. Separately, the colours were chosen by the sponsorship as needed. The first NSX-GT had a base colour of Royal Blue would have intricate and alternating Tornado Red stripes on the sides – from front to side doors to rear – with the bonnet coloured Royal Blue, and altogether with a pearl effect. That being said, it was decided that Pepsi would be this car's primary sponsor, and so the Pepsi logos and words would later be on the hood, doors, and roof. The colours complimented the sponsor, no less, with the minor sponsors of the C1TM – such as tyre sponsor Hankook.

That being said, the sponsors' stickers would come later.

Design was all part of the process, but it had to be completed before the start of the racing season. While the car would have its exterior completed replaced with official colours, the factory was hard at work at producing those parts. In addition to part production, the sponsors had to be decorated on it as well!

The idea was in the event of an accident, the car would have extra parts to replace. Doors, bonnets, and even bumpers had to be produced – a responsibility that ultimately rested with the factory.

At this point, however, the parts had already arrived, and all Team Constellar, HRC, and Honda UK had to do was remove the base-coloured parts of this Honda and replace them with the livery parts. Nevertheless, the process was never intended to be fast.

The Honda workshop mechanics worked hand in hand with the Constellar mechanics, whilst both receiving strict instruction from HRC engineers. Exterior parts were carefully replaced in accordance to the engineers' specifications. Even though the new parts were identical to those of the base colour, the engineers had to make sure nothing was out of place – otherwise, the car would seriously have legal problems with the FIA.

Percy O'Carroll stood watching the exchange process and, on personal note, giving his approval of the car. The new parts coloured predominantly Royal Blue and Tornado Red, with tinges of black, were installed in place of the removed base-coloured parts. His girlfriend, a city girl from Aberdeen, stood beside him watching the exchange as well.

"I can't see why you find any of this exciting," she remarked.

"Well, let's just say men love cars," Percy rolled his eyes, but he kept an arm wrapped around his girlfriend's back.

Official sponsorship, namely Pepsi, was evident on the Honda NSX-GT. That being said, it was time to add on the intricate Tornado Red stripes on the sides. Designers came with the appropriate materials, adding the Tornado Red sticker on the sides whilst temporarily covering the Royal Blue parts, so that the blue wouldn't be affected. This design thus brought about the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT**.

After some time, the coverings of the blue would be peeled off to blend in well with the red. The Pepsi stickers would come next.

_Can't wait to drive this thing_, Percy thought.

"Say, how many girlfriends have you had before me?"

That question caught Percy off-guard. His memories flashed back to a time where he was caught making out with one of his previous girlfriends… by the current girlfriend at the time. Oh well. He supposed that there were too many girlfriends to keep track of.

Not wanting to discourage this girlfriend, he replied, "Eight."

There had been no more conversation about that after that.

Elsewhere, the new parts for Carina's NSX-GT were being simultaneously pieced together alongside the **Pepsi NSX-GT**. Unlike the **Pepsi NSX-GT**, however, Carina's car was far, far, from finished. Whereas Percy's car was partially constructed, Carina's car had only begun the process of setting up the chassis. The frame was tilted on its side with a Honda engineer sitting beside it with a laptop in hand. It appeared he was following specifications listed on there and relating them to building the car itself.

_This is going to take a while_, Carina thought.

* * *

**Florence, Italy**

The X-Tech Racing team had temporarily set up shop in the Nighsworn siblings' hometown for their convenience. However, it also caused some inconvenience with regards to the shipping of racing parts to the garage – from the German-based HWA firm.

The workshop was the base of operations where the car was supposed to be constructed. The frame was in place and the X-Tech team was busy putting it together. Fortunately, two engineers from the HWA firm stayed to help them out. While the chassis was put on its side and a single team member was working away putting parts into the chassis, other team members were running about in the background looking for other tools and parts.

Aurora Nighsworn stood watching dressed in, to many of the X-Tech team members' irritation, extravagant colours. Black and gray skirt, black pinstriped polo shirt, with metallic gold on one sleeve and metallic green on the other, not to mention a black _and_ gray vest with knee high socks and converse shoes, it was no wonder some found her appearance distracting.

"Say, Shade," Aurora asked her brother, who was watching the process too. "How long is this supposed to take?"

Shade, dressed in the more _casual_ appearance of jeans and black t-shirt with a leather jacket, grimaced. "One car, just one car, should take… I don't know, 500 man hours? That's going to take three weeks."

Meanwhile, more workers were on the other side of the chassis putting together more parts onto the car – specifically the front. Other workers and mechanics were handling the car's bottom putting in parts and electronic devices that the car might need.

After some time, the car was rotated so that more and more parts could be equipped onto the DTM Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé the team was building. Shade and Aurora were watching this the whole time, of course, but they realised just how long they were standing there.

"Alright! I'm off!" they heard three of the mechanics call out. "Good night."

Aurora stared at Shade. "Is it really that late?"

Her brother checked his watch, and then grimaced. "Yeah… we've been here for quite a while. What do you say we grab dinner?"

"Oh, don't wait for us!" one of the HWA engineers waved. "We're going to spend day and night, hour after hour, working on this. It's why we have shifts, you know."

The siblings nodded. As they turned around to leave the garage, they could hear the sounds of team members in the back still discussing how to put the car together, and others installing more parts onto the chassis.

By the time the Nighsworns left, HWA mechanics were piecing the car's circuitry together. In addition, as Shade and Aurora were leaving, they passed by one of the X-Tech Racing engineers who had returned to the garage with a _lot_ of packed dinners. It seemed that the HWA guys weren't keen to leave the project unfinished! No surprise, since Shade and Aurora needed to get as much practice as they could before the start of the C1TM. Even though there would be free practice sessions and qualifying, not unlike Formula One, it was best to gain familiarity with the car.

"Dinner!" someone called out.

At once, the mechanics and engineers abandoned their efforts for the time being and hastily picked up their food. For every hour spent away from the Mercedes, the more time would be required to build the DTM machine. It was better to get it done as quickly as possible, and that required hundreds of man hours.

Sponsors had provided the team with necessary stickers, but there would be a long wait before they could be applied. The cars, first of all, had to be assembled. When spare parts were available, which the engineers had no doubt would arrive, the stickers would be labeled onto the parts as well.

At some undisclosed café elsewhere, Shade and Aurora were quietly enjoying a plate of beef rolls each. The beef rolls were one of many regional specialties in the Tuscany region, and they were a favourite of Shade's. Aurora, on the other hand, stuck with soup.

They were sitting outside in the cool Italian air at a table for two, with the night lights illuminating the Tuscan architecture. Aurora noticed her brother ate his food rather… dully.

"Feeling alright there, Shade?" she asked playfully. "I thought you liked beef rolls!"

Shade, being the reserved type he was, didn't reply immediately, but he merely speared a roll and began to eat. Aurora watched slowly, hearing the air around her swirl and feeling the chill on her back. As her brother was eating, so did Aurora when she put another spoonful of soup in her mouth.

"It's just… it feels weird, you know?" Shade said without looking at his sister, and instead stared at his plate. "We're already at the stage of building the cars, and pretty soon, we're going to be on the grid."

Aurora laughed as if Shade was joking. As children, she and her brother always kept up with their father who conducted test runs for the Lotus F1 Team. At almost every test session, Aurora would rave about wanting to be a professional racer when she was older, and Shade had always insisted that there could be other opportunities.

That became a twist of irony today, when it was Shade now who talked about getting a race seat.

"Well, I think hundreds of non-stop man hours are pretty far from 'pretty soon'," Aurora added. "When we get to the grid, let's talk strategy!"

Shade swallowed his beef roll, looked up into his sister's eyes, and gave her words a thought. He had to smile in the end, though.

"That can wait when we talk with the team principal," Shade said. "Actually, Aurora, I have a couple ideas in mind already."

* * *

**Nürburg, Germany**

As Maria and Leon were told, the mechanics back in Munich had _just_ finished placing the preliminary screws into the cars and were hard at work putting some of the first circuitry together. The car had yet to be finished.

"Aw… why can't they finish it now?" Maria whined. "Sure, I know it requires patience, but if over 500 man hours needed is just an estimate, then why can't they build it sooner?"

"Maria. You and I know very well that building a machine like that is complicated," Leon answered. "Plus, it's a car built specially for you! At least try to appreciate the effort they're going through for you!"

Maria made a face, and she motioned her cousin to join her return to where they were staying – that is, some small residence building in Nürburg that Michael Fong had arranged earlier. As Leon was the older of the two, Leon was to take responsibility of the building for the time being. At least this provided a place for him and Maria to stay! They would, however, be tasked to provide food for themselves.

It was dusk, with the twilight now descending upon the Eiffel. While the street lamps began to glow already, Maria and Leon were jogging together on their way back to where they were staying.

"How are we supposed to be accommodated in this championship, anyway?" Maria asked her cousin.

They both knew, very well, that the schedule for the C1TM had not been released yet.

"Dr. Hilbert hinted that the team will supply a motor home for our use," Leon recalled. "At least, that's what I was told. Also, the motor home will be used for travelling on land, of course, along with our car. I don't know if we'll get a luxury motor home, but given we're travelling with a professional team, we're bound to get something decent. If the locations are close, then a motor home is logical. If they're far apart, then it gets complicated."

They jogged past a café and approached one of the few grocery stores in the village, and it occurred to Leon that he had failed to purchase groceries for the day. Subsequently, Maria humorously slapped him before heading for the place to buy some things. Leon, of course, accompanied her.

It wasn't long before, after half an hour, they came out with bags of groceries. The cousins then went straight to their place of residence and unloaded their groceries. Leon was the first to go to sleep, and Maria didn't go to bed until she had had a glass of water.

* * *

**Belgium**

**Germany**

**Italy**

**Japan**

**United Kingdom**

**United States**

Elsewhere, in various parts of the world, teams were assembling their cars in preparation for the coming Class-One Touring Masters. Each team would receive factory support from the manufacturer, and they were going to need it in hopes of fighting for championship contention in the coming season…

* * *

**I have yet to start on the season itself...**


	6. The FIA C1TM Calendar

**I'm working part-time, and I'm studying part-time. This is the pressure of university summer courses. I've even forgotten this chapter existed! I just reached the halfway point of my term yesterday.**

**I feel like I owe Luna TFK Watson, alex 988, DeathXTheXKidd, and huge favours, since the last time they reviewed was the beginning of the month!**

**I apologise for the delay, but I have so many things I want to do...**

**Enjoy the chapter! It (the chapter) will serve as a rulebook for myself as well.**

* * *

_**Chapter six: The FIA C1TM Calendar**_

**Place de la Concorde, Paris, France: three weeks later**

"_The inaugural season of the FIA Class-One Touring Masters is coming ever closer_," a broadcaster reported outside the FIA headquarters in Paris, amongst many other reporters who had crowded around the building in the hopes of seeing the race drivers who needed to attend a pre-season briefing.

"_Reports and rumours tell us that many of the entries, for a professional event such as this, mainly consist of relatively young drivers. Why, there is speculation that one of the drivers is a 19-year old young woman, who would – if the rumours are true – earn her place as the youngest professional female race driver of all time…_"

"_The likes of every manufacturer involved in the DTM and Super GT are likely to be part of this new era of professional racing. The best of GT, if you will…_"

As Dr. Dan Hilbert was the face of BMW Team Canada, and he had no doubt Maria and Leon's faces would have made it onto the newspapers and websites related to the C1TM, he would normally expect crowds of reporters squirming at him for a few comments or words. As much as Hilbert would have loved to, there was a meeting he had to attend, with Maria and Leon in tow.

Indeed, both Maria and Leon were right behind him, both wearing sunglasses. Maria and Leon knew well enough that as works drivers, publicity was bound to be part of the picture. But then again, Maria was told she was the youngest female entrant in the history of the FIA's record. Not even the DTM or Super GT had female drivers as young as her.

As a result, Maria became a huge center of attention for the media. She tried her best not to answer too many questions and followed Hilbert and Michael into the FIA building. Security guards made way for the drivers and team principals to enter the prestigious Place de la Concorde, whilst keeping out the public.

* * *

Upon entering the building, Maria and Leon were greeted by an FIA official, who led them to one of the many conference rooms. When they entered, they were greeted by a half-full table of important-looking people, wearing suits and all. Well, that made Maria and Leon no different, as they decided to wear suits as well. Never mind Hilbert or Michael.

By the time they were all seated, it was no surprise to Michael that there was a flow of indistinct chatter from the drivers. After all, most of them had probably never seen someone as young as Maria given a professional race seat. Even though there were some other women who looked as young as Maria, it was more apparent that Maria _was_ the youngest.

Leon helped pull a chair for his younger cousin, which the latter took. Shortly after, both Michael and Hilbert took their seats as well.

Maria and Leon took their time to examine some of the people in the room, given the spokesman hadn't arrived yet. There were team principals in the room, and there were of course the racing drivers themselves. Some looked 'normal', while others looked intimidating. In fact, in Maria's perspective, two of the drivers – a handsome man with messy blond hair, and a woman not much older than Maria – looked at her with interest.

The other thing that Maria noticed was that at least a third of the makeup of attendance was Japanese, let alone Asian. Was the Super GT really that popular, as described to her? She had no idea.

An FIA official was the last person to step into the room, and by then the room had fallen silent.

"_Bon matin_," he said. "Good morning."

* * *

It had taken an hour to go through introducing the teams alone. The FIA official had made it clear that what was listed on the provisional entry list was clearly provisional, that the revised list would serve as the official entry list. He made it brief, and presented the list in full.

**FIA Class-One Touring Masters Entry List (Team)**

**Each team described herein along with its drivers has been authorized by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) for entry in the FIA Class-One Touring Masters (C1TM).**

**Audi Sport Team WRT (BEL)**

**0: **Alain Blanc (BEL): Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM

**2: **Matias Schulz (DEU): Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM

**Accelerated Racing by NISMO (GBR)**

**3:** Luna Watson (GBR): Oracle Nissan GT-R

**4:** Oliver Davis (GBR): Microsoft Nissan GT-R

**Honda Team Constellar (GBR)**

**5:** Percival O'Carroll (IRE): Pepsi Honda NSX-GT

**6:** Beverly Hills (GBR): IKEA Honda NSX-GT

**BMW Team Canada (CAN)**

**7:** Maria Lougheed (CAN): BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM

**8:** Leon Pinetree (CAN): Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM

**X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG (ITA)**

**9:** Shade Nighsworn (ITA): Monster Energy Mercedes AMG C-Coupé DTM

**10:** Aurora Nighsworn (ITA): Toshiba Mercedes AMG C-Coupé DTM

**Lexus Team NIWA (JPN)**

**11:** Ken Kaihatsu (JPN): Petronas Lexus RC F

**12:** Matsuda Kaihatsu (JPN): Shell Lexus RC F

**Red Emperor by NISMO (JPN)**

**13:** Keiji Nakamura (JPN): Veilside Nissan GT-R

**14:** Ryo Yamamoto (JPN): Endless Nissan GT-R

**Runway Racing (USA)**

**15:** Terrence Moss (USA): Costco Lexus RC F

**16:** Lacey Morrison (GBR): Tesco Lexus RC F

**Rising Sun Motorsports (JPN)**

**17:** Haru Matsubara (JPN): Mabuchi Motor Nissan GT-R

**18:** Taji Isida (JPN): Isuzu Motors Nissan GT-R

**Virgin Racing USA (USA)**

**19:** Michelle Martinez (MEX): Red Bull Nissan GT-R

**20: **Jade Kyoto (JPN): Rockstar Nissan GT-R

After that, the point system was revealed to the briefing, which stipulated the amount of points one would score in a race. Ideally, as was usually done in both DTM and Super GT, only the cars that finished in the top ten would be eligible for championship points.

It was straightforward. As there were twenty entrants, the FIA moved to using the points system similarly used by the Super GT. 1st place would earn 20 points, 2nd would earn 15, 3rd would earn 11, 4th would earn 87, 5th would earn 6, and so on until 10th place (which earned 1 point). As explained, the scoring system applied to both the driver and team championships.

**FIA Class-One Touring Masters Points System**

**1****st****:** 20

**2****nd****:** 15

**3****rd****: **11

**4****th****:** 8

**5****th****:** 6

**6****th****:** 5

**7****th****:** 4

**8****th****:** 3

**9****th****:** 2

**10****th****:** 1

In addition, the FIA official unveiled certain safety requirements that were expected of all drivers. Judging by most of the young-looking drivers in the room, the official suspected that they had just become professional drivers. They would have experience, yes, but it would be better just to make sure. Green flags, blue flags, red flags, and of course yellow flags were introduced and explained just to make sure the drivers knew what was to be understood during the race. The chequered flag was last.

"There will be a safety car present at the time of a yellow flag," the official said. "There is no overtaking to be done while present, and everyone is expected to keep up with the safety car until it turns into the pit lane."

That being said, in addition to the yellow flag, everyone in the room listened on procedures such as formation laps, qualifying rounds, and races. Penalties were last on the agenda, and the FIA official made it very clear how each penalty was defined, and how they were received. Five-second penalties, drive-through penalties, stop-go penalties… the lot. That being said, the FIA official provided examples of penalties, such as cutting the race line or collisions.

To add onto safety requirements, the FIA posted a reminding criterion that all drivers had to wear mandatory race suits, fireproof wear which included balaclavas, and of course the HANS device and race helmet.

Another hour later, to wrap up the meeting, the FIA presented a short calendar for the members to see.

"Each team will be responsible for transporting their cars while on land," he said. "So you should have motor homes and transport trucks present. However, when it comes to transporting cars overseas, we at the FIA will cover that. The first part of the season will occur in America, so if there are any overseas arrangements you need to make, speak with us. You must give a week's notice."

Subsequently, he presented the calendar.

**FIA Class-One Touring Masters**

**Class-One North America**

1: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (USA)

2: Circuit of the Americas (USA)

3: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (CAN)

4: Road Atlanta (USA)

5: Sebring International Raceway (USA)

_Transition_

**Class-One Europe**

6: Brands Hatch (GBR)

7: Circuit Ricardo Tormo (ESP)

8: Circuit Park Zandvoort (NLD)

9: Nürburgring (DEU)

10: Red Bull Ring (AUT)

11: Autodromo Nazionale Monza (ITA)

_Transition_

**Class-One Asia**

12: Dubai Autodrome (ARE)

13: Guia Circuit (TWN)

14: Shanghai International Circuit (CHN)

15: Okayama International Circuit (JPN)

16: Suzuka Circuit (JPN)

_Transition_

**Class-One Australia**

17: Mount Panorama Circuit (AUS)

18: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit (AUS)

At the end of the day came a press conference for the media. Due to the mass number of people present, only the heads of manufacturers would be present. This included Michael.

"You can stay, if you'd like, or you can head to Munich," he told Hilbert. "I've just received word that the factory has completed construction of the M4s. Leon and Maria can give them test drives, if they'd like, or you can ship them to the States."

"Oh, I know," Hilbert smiled. "They're halfway applying the decals and stickers already! Talk about efficiency. So… yeah, I'll see to getting our drivers to Munich. Good luck, Michael."

The two men shook hands before parting ways. Michael went on to join a number of officials representing some participating manufacturers, who had gathered just outside of a separate room where the media were waiting inside. After a few moments, an FIA staff member ushered them in.

Camera flashes welcomed the motorsport leaders, as the four officials stepped up to take their seats facing the press. The seats were adjacent to each other, with a wide table separating the officials from the press. They, the motorsport heads, each wore appropriate apparel designating who was who. Michael alone wore a white polo shirt with the BMW logo embroidered on the left. Respectively, the Audi Sport and Mercedes-AMG heads wore black-and-red and silver gray. The Super GT representative, a Japanese businessman, stuck to wearing a suit.

"Please welcome of heads of motorsport, representing Audi Sport, BMW Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG, and the Super GT," the FIA official announced. "If you have any questions to them regarding the Class-One Touring Masters, now is the time."

It didn't take long for a question to arise. Someone, a journalist, raised her hand.

"_I understand that BMW Canada, the W Racing Team, and X-Tech Racing are the only BMW, Audi, and Mercedes entries for this this season, alongside the only Honda entry in Team Constellar_," she said. "_Given there are a fleet of RC Fs and GT-Rs, is there any reason to feel pressured? Since these teams are the sole representatives of their marques?_"

Michael looked to his sides to wait on anyone who wanted to answer. The Audi Sport director replied first.

"I think, for exactly that reason, the FIA has excluded a manufacturer's championship for the C1TM," he said. "On the W Racing Team's part, they have been long-time contenders with the Audi brand. In Alain Blanc and Matias Schulz, we are confident that despite the lack of Audi cars out there, we will be contenders for the championship."

The Super GT representative spoke next.

"Nismo, Nissan's motorsport division, received an unexpected number of orders for their GT500-spec GT-R over the past year. So yes, the presence of Nissan is heavy," he said. "However, this shouldn't presuppose that the odds are in their favour. Honda is providing their full support for the UK-based Constellar team, since they are the lone showcase. One would think it is due to the GT-R's popularity that there are so many entries of it. No surprise, since the GT-R GT500 is immensely popular in the Super GT already."

Everyone's eyes turned to Michael and the Mercedes-AMG director next.

"Well, you all know that Mercedes has been focusing a lot on Formula One, and the DTM," the AMG director said. "Honestly, we at Mercedes weren't considering entry into the C1TM until our friends at HWA reported they had a client – namely X-Tech Racing – who was interested in the championship. As HWA manages AMG's participation in the DTM, they extended their support to X-Tech. Any other minor support that HWA didn't cover was handled by us. Like Audi and Honda, we do feel there is a weight on our shoulders, but X-Tech should be privileged to be the representatives of AMG."

Michael nodded his head. "Like X-Tech with Mercedes, BMW Canada is granted the honour of representing BMW in this championship. As BMW is currently focusing exclusively on the DTM and GT racing, I took the bold move to enlist a team for the C1TM – with the works support from the factory. We do feel a lot of pressure, yes, but this would be no different than Formula One. Every team has two cars, and we do our best to claim the top step of the podium."

Michael noticed someone else raise their hand. "Yes?" he asked.

"_Is it true that you are fielding a 19-year old woman in the championship? How does it feel to have this sort of feat – being the youngest female pro race driver in history? Wouldn't you fear any risk of… incompetency? Take the driver Susie Wolff who barely scored points in the DTM. She participated for seven seasons, starting at the age of 23!_"

Michael blinked. His facial expression remained neutral. Even the other executives turned their heads to look at him.

"If nothing else, we could always rely on our other driver if we must," he joked. "But in all seriousness, it _is_ true that we are fielding 19-year old Maria Lougheed in our lineup. Tt feels almost like a privilege to have the youngest female driver in history to be racing for us. With the right amount of training and strategy between them and the team, I'm sure they will prove competitive. Susie Wolff is one case, true, but I'm confident Maria is capable of racing – and possibly a title contender. The team is using two competitive cars, after all."

"_Do you anticipate making history, with your drivers?_"

"That would be a question you'd direct to Dr. Dan Hilbert, the team principal," Michael replied. "Still, there are drivers like Claudia Hürtgen who are even more competitive and experienced than our 19-year old professional. It's worth a shot, anyway."

Those who did not attend the press conference were invited to take pictures of the twenty drivers who would be participating in the inaugural season of the FIA C1TM.

Ideally, the drivers were grouped together by manufacturer. As Maria and Leon were the sole representatives of BMW, they were the lonesome. Well, there were only two drivers from Honda, Audi, and Mercedes apiece, whereas Nissan and Lexus had a prominent presence.

They stood together in front of the cameras for minutes, and struggled to uphold grins and smiles amid camera flashes and shutters. However, the way Maria saw it, at least half of the cameras were fixed on her. Why. Why did she have to be the youngest entrant? Sure, it was nice to have a seat in a DTM machine _and_ in a DTM-inspired championship, but she could have waited, right? Absolutely not. Otherwise, she might never get another chance for a seat.

After the photo session was over with, Maria followed Leon out of the room, where they eventually met up with Hilbert outside. Uniformed guards ushered the drivers out and away to the front entrance of the Place de la Concorde, where transport – and a lot of media and press – were waiting.

There was a barrier, at least, to separate the media from the flow of pro racing drivers walking out. Hilbert waved for his two drivers to join him.

"All done?" Hilbert asked, rhetorically. When Leon nodded, Hilbert smiled, and handed him a file folder. He explained, "These contain photos taken from Munich. The cars are nearly finished at the factory and I've made arrangements with the FIA to ship them over to America. They're due to arrive in another three weeks, in conjunction with other cars at the FIA's convenience."

Leon looked at the photos first. There it was, the **Hudson's Bay Company M4 DTM**, with its pearl HBC White body covered with HBC stripes. To be honest, he was pleased to see the finished product, and very soon, he would be able to bring it onto the race grid. If nothing else, the number 8 – encased within a C1TM sticker – was visible on the door, beside the HBC logo. The HBC stripes of green, red, yellow, and indigo stretched to cover the bonnet to the spoiler. Last but not least, on both rear windows, was a small Canadian flag with the first three letters of Leon's surname.

"Hey, Maria, come take a look at this," he told his cousin. He handed her the file, subsequently.

Maria scanned the images, and like her cousin, looked pleased to see the finished product. With pearl Crystal White body, BMW i highlight on the underside and around the kidney grill, and metallic Frozen Black on the bottom chassis, it was no wonder Maria was happy to be soon driving the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**. Like Leon, her start number, 7, was fixed on the doors. Labelled on the rear windows were a Canadian flag and the first three letters of her surname.

"It's time to go," Hilbert advised, and ushering both Leon and Maria to a car. "Michael will join us later, but we need to prepare heading to California next week. Practice begins soon. If it was me, I'd love to give you practice sessions at the factory, but I think you'd be better off learning the track you'll be racing on."

Soon enough, they were on their way east, away from Paris, to the border. As the German autobahn was known for having no speed limits, it did not take long for Maria, Leon, and Hilbert to be halfway to Munich once they had crossed the Franco-German border.

On the way there, Maria and Leon were still looking at the photos of their to-be race cars.

"We're going on a world tour, wouldn't you say, Leon?" Maria asked.

"You bet," her cousin replied. "Although… I have a feeling it's going to be a while. I sure hope it doesn't take the whole year! That'd be ridiculous! Besides, I might miss out on my birthday."

"Then we'll celebrate it next month," Maria promised. "Come on, we have another month before the season starts! We'll have three weeks before we practice too!"

Leon grinned at his younger cousin's optimism. "I guess so, Maria."

* * *

**The FIA C1TM season will start in the next chapter. That I promise. However, I worry about how long it will take to write it.**


	7. Fresh Rivalry

**It's been a MONTH since I've last updated. Between writing three Fanfictions at the same time and schoolwork... life is messy, you know? Even if it is the summer.**

**Luna TFK Watson, DeathX..., and spanky1988...: I haven't given up writing. Yet.**

**Note: having a map of the racetrack is strongly encouraged to understand what is going on…**

* * *

_**Chapter seven: Fresh Rivalry**_

**Two months later**

**Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, United States**

In the dry Californian weather, the distinct sound of buzzing filled the air.

The **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM** with Maria Lougheed at the wheel was, along with nineteen other cars, undergoing a series of laps at the Laguna Seca circuit in California. Maria, having already had plenty of practice with the track a few days prior, still had to adjust to the demands of the environment around her.

For one thing; before, she usually practised with the M4 DTM on her own, if not counting Leon. Now, she was doing a real qualifying session with competitive opponents. How much more could she want?

She kept her hands firmly on the race wheel and her fingers on the shift paddles. Through her gap of her blue, green, and white Bell helmet, Maria quickly and carefully maneuvered through the corners and inclines of the Laguna Seca.

At one instance, she would be following a GT500 Nissan GT-R, and by the time Marina had turned onto the 'Rahal Straight', she had a good amount of speed built up on the race line, and the Nissan was right behind her.

Now, in front, was the **Oracle Nissan GT-R**. As with every car, the field was competitive. The qualifying session was halfway through and so far, according to Dr. Dan Hilbert, Maria and Leon had managed to post lap times enough for 14th and 12th, respectively. Not bad for a first qualifying session, but still not enough to competitively fight for points.

"_You'll have to do a lot better_," Hilbert said through the team radio. "_I'm not saying this to discourage you, but if we want to fight for points, you'll need to make progress. You can do it, Maria. You're in a champion-proven machine in the M4 DTM. Don't disappoint!_"

With that little bit of encouragement, Maria attempted to push the BMW harder, and made – from her own judgement call – much better timed gear shifts with the paddles. With every turn, however, she could feel the pressure of G-forces impacting her body within her race suit. It was a good thing she always did her exercises with Leon…

She continued follow and draft the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** upon approaching the final corner, and once they turned, Maria made sure the tyres accurately rolled over the kerb. It wasn't long until she crossed the start line.

"_You are currently 4.2 seconds slower than the fastest lap,_" Hilbert said.

She did all she could to keep up with the Nissan ahead. Maria had to admit, however, that whoever was driving the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** certainly had a good grip on where the race line was headed. It was as if the driver already knew the track by heart.

All Maria needed to do was edge a little closer to that Nissan, but that was a lot easier said than done. Professional racing required top-of-the-line skills, which included running on apexes and besting sector times.

The buzzing of the turbocharged 2.0 L 4-cylinder engine was distinct, and would be deafening to anyone who heard the full rev of its power this close. However, like every driver, Maria wore a race helmet with earphones such to block out the noise.

By the time the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM** had reached the final corner, the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** was nowhere closer, but on the other hand Maria had passed a green-and-gold-liveried black Mercedes on the way. It was the **Monster Energy DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé**.

It didn't matter how hot it felt, whether it was due to the Californian heat or to the pressure she felt within. Under all that fireproof clothing, the race suit, and helmet, Maria felt like burning inside. However, what mattered was focus.

* * *

Leon Pinetree had just finished a routine pit stop in his **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM **to change tyres and headed straight out back to the field. He heard the loud buzz of the revving engine and was on his way out, of course at the pit lane speed limit.

"_Well timed, Leon, well timed,_" Hilbert complimented through the team radio.

Leon hit the first corner, did a slow 1st gear turn, and exited the pit lane to continue his flying laps with the rest of the field. Ahead, two Nissan GT-Rs were flying into the next two apexes. At first Leon was about to floor the throttle but immediately stopped short when the **Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM**, followed by its sister car the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM**, suddenly appeared by Leon's side. To avoid a collision, Leon had to let them pass.

No matter, since _this_ lap wouldn't count and Leon had to adjust to the new tyres anyway. When it was safe, Leon glanced at his mirrors before flooring the throttle and heard the sound of the 4-cylinder engine buzz inside the cockpit. All Leon could see through the gap in his helmet was the hot and sandy track, with kerbs and sand lining up the sides, and the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** in the distance.

_Think it'll be best to follow this Audi_, Leon thought. Race strategies could wait until the race itself. Leon went on following the race line and hoped to lose more time for the lap. The Audis were fast, that was true, but the draft created by the second Audi was enough for Leon to gain speed and soon enough he was halfway through the circuit.

That is, he had to pass the infamous Corkscrew as well, which saw his M4 DTM slowing to tackle the frightening downward slope. However, he was nevertheless no farther from the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM**, and Leon knew that what he'll end up with was a fast lap.

"_That's a quick lap out there, Leon, good job_," Hilbert's voice spoke through the radio. "_If all goes well and nothing changes, that will be P4 for you._"

Leon did continue to stay behind the Audi, at least until the Audi overtook the **Veilside Nissan GT-R** via late braking into the first corner, which Leon had no choice but to brake early to avoid a crash. In the aftermath, the Audi was further ahead and had widened the gap between it and the **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM**.

"_It's not over yet,_" Hilbert said. "_Try to focus and get as many laps done._"

* * *

Maria, on the other hand, was engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with the **Oracle Nissan GT-R**. Try as they might, the two cars were fighting each other over for control of the race line, like two opposing forces of equal might. It was hard to believe that this was only qualifying.

"_Don't damage the car, Maria,_" Hilbert warned. "_If you do, we'll have trouble for the race tomorrow._"

"_Okay, Maria. Try to make this lap as clean as possible. Keep to the race line,_" the team engineer instructed. "_When you do keep to the line, see if you can push past this one if you can._"

It was important to listen to the instructions of the engineer, as it was a component of Hilbert's strategy. Rather than compromising the strategy, Maria obeyed the instructions without question, and she tried to do a daring overtake immediately after she and the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** had passed the steep Corkscrew.

Through the gap in her helmet, however, the GT-R in front swerved to block her overtake, and Maria's M4 had nearly made contact if not for her quick reaction. Maria slammed the brake pedal hard and downshifted by at least two gears. Smoke poured out from her rear tyres as the BMW M4 DTM slowed drastically.

"What was that?!" Maria screamed into her radio. "That was a block! Blocking! Blocking!"

"_Calm down, Maria. Just try to calm down,_" Hilbert assured. "_I'll see to talking with the race director about this, but try to bring the car in one piece. Focus, and try to regain your pace._"

The anger and frustration could be physically felt within her body, and her breathing became short. Regardless of Hilbert's instructions, Maria found it difficult to keep her emotions under control. What the GT-R did was uncalled for, and completely unnecessary.

She wondered if it was possible to calm down under these circumstances, and she was given a severe wake-up call when half of her M4 DTM left the track and onto the gravel.

"_Maria!_" Hilbert shouted.

The **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM** shook and rumbled over the gravel, and gravel and sand were flown into the air and creating a cloud of smoky dust.

"_Slow down, Maria! Don't break the car!_" the team engineer yelled, as if it were more of a command than an instruction.

As a result, Maria slowed to a halt, and as soon as she did the race marshals in reflective vests hurried over to see if she was alright. On Maria's part, her arms and hands were still shaking in frustration even when she was at a standstill, and she wouldn't let go of the race wheel. It took some time; at the point where a marshal approached the door of the M4 DTM, Maria slowly released her hands from the race wheel.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the marshal opened the door to Maria's side.

"Are you alright there?"

Maria nodded.

"Let's get you out, and we'll move your car back to your garage after the session."

* * *

"On the plus side, we've secured the fourth row on the grid, which – for a team that is entering its first professional race – is a good result, although I'm sure there's plenty of room for improvement," Dr. Dan Hilbert announced at the BMW Team Canada debrief. "Mr. Pinetree and Ms. Lougheed have qualified seventh and eighth respectively. This should be a sign that we've put our faith in the right drivers."

The rest of the team applauded politely for Maria and Leon, who were sitting at the front row, with the rest of the team seated behind them. The race engineers were seated beside Maria and Leon, and the mechanics and the pit crew were all seated at the rest of the seats. BMW Motorsport assistant director Michael Fong also sat at the front row, beside the engineers.

"Now to more pressing concerns," he continued. "I'm sure you are all aware of the incident the number 7 BMW had with the number 3 Nissan. The suspected blocking incident was under investigation by the FIA for the past two hours and they've concluded that the number 3 Nissan, having impeded the number 7 BMW, is guilty of blocking as specified in the FIA's rulebook. The Nissan will be handed a grid penalty and start from sixteenth on the grid, having initially qualified tenth."

Hilbert moved to face the team with a smile. "On the whole, good job, team. Let's hope for a smooth race tomorrow. With proper strategy and timing, we shall have points in the bag, and if we're lucky we might try for the podium. Michael, is there anything you'd like to add?"

Michael stood up to stand beside Hilbert.

"Despite this session being overshadowed by the blocking incident, and losing a potential P4 for Leon, I'm glad how this session turned out," he commended. "Starting from the fourth row isn't that bad. And remember that you all are ambassadors to BMW. Shine like stars, and you'll have a podium in your sights."

For the rest of the briefing, Hilbert went over reminding the pit strategies the team was expected to execute. The engineers provided weather updates on a minute-by-minute basis, but they were expecting typical Californian weather of nothing more than sun and heat. It was going to be interesting how the race would turn out in the following day.

* * *

Luna Watson.

That was the name of the driver of the **Oracle Nissan GT-R**, Maria learned.

With the amount of downtime she had left, Maria hurried over to where the Accelerated Racing team was based, hoping to run into whoever Luna Watson was. This was at her discretion, of course, because Maria would figure that trying to talk to Luna directly would highly disappoint Michael or Dr. Hilbert, and possibly the FIA as well. Although Luna had been handed a penalty, Maria felt she should face the issue herself.

The Class-One touring cars were all parked in their respective garages, in preparation for the main race in the coming day. Small signs, embossed with team names, were hung above the space in front of each pit garage by means of an extended bar which included power lines for the wheel guns.

As Maria, dressed in her red, white, and navy-blue team apparel with her trademark hairband, walked past each garage, she glimpsed inside hoping to see the Pearl Red Nissan GT-R with the black-and-red Oracle logos.

She walked past the Virgin Racing USA team, with their **Red Bull Nissan GT-R** and **Rockstar Nissan GT-R** all parked inside and their team mechanics making final preparations to the car. In Maria's opinion, the colours, candy-pink with green and candy-purple with sky blue respectively, looked nothing close to their respective sponsors, but she supposed that was what the designer had in mind.

Then there was the only factory Audi team in the W Racing Team. Their **Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM** stood there, the flagship **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** sitting patiently alongside, with their engineers instructing non-stop to the mechanics and discussing with the team principal. It reminded Maria a bit of her friends at BMW Team Canada, although she knew they had finished operations and were headed back to the hotel where the FIA had arranged for them to stay.

Had Maria had more time, she would have spent it looking at the race machines more, but she didn't have the time for that. Her downtime was going to spent looking for Luna Watson, who had blocked her in qualifying and should be confronted. Eventually, Maria made it to the pit garage with the Accelerated Racing by NISMO team logo posted with the wheel gun power lines.

There it was. The **Oracle Nissan GT-R**… and the **Microsoft Nissan GT-R**. Also, there was the woman not much older than Maria with the raven hair and white bangs talking with one of the engineers… Wait, she was at the drivers' briefing at Paris. This had to be her!

Maria's approach was not unnoticed, since the team members of Accelerated Racing could clearly see the words 'BMW Team Canada' printed on her jacket as well as a BMW hat. If they wanted to, they would have stopped Maria in her tracks on grounds of suspicious behaviour, which they did.

"Hey! You can't go through here! What do you think you're doing?" someone, a mechanic, grasped tightly onto Maria's arm.

"I want to see Luna Watson," Maria replied, annoyed.

She tried to shake off the hand, but the grip was pretty firm. Nevertheless, Maria's attempted entry into the pit garage gained the attention of the rest of the team. She was aware, but what mattered was talking to Luna. Never mind what others were thinking!

"Hey, Luna! Did you think it was funny to block me like that?" Maria shouted. The Accelerated Racing team members had hands on her arms and shoulders trying to pull her back. "Not cool! What was the point?!"

Luna, who had made eye contact with Maria, reluctantly walked over to confront her.

"You're Maria, aren't you?" she flatly said, speaking in the typical London accent. "What, me getting a penalty wasn't enough for you?"

"Sure it's enough," Maria shot back. "But come on, you did not have to do that in the first place! Ever heard of the 'rules'? That's what we play by! You're supposed to be a professional! Answer me, what was the point?"

Luna's face soured, as if she didn't know how to respond. The tension in the air was peaking, which made the team members of Accelerated Racing a little uncomfortable. Maria tried to force her way through, as if trying to taunt Luna, but the team members wouldn't let her in.

Finally, the team principal personally went to Maria and quietly asked her to leave the premises. Still annoyed, but partly understanding, Maria turned around and left.

Only after passing the X-Tech Racing by HWA garage did she run into her older cousin, who apparently left the BMW Team Canada garage as well. His face was emotionless.

"Tell me, Maria," Leon said just as flatly as Luna, "did you just use your downtime to argue with that 'blocker'? You know that issue has been resolved."

There was no point denying it. Maria partly hung her head, and didn't bother looking up. She knew what she did was a little embarrassing. However, she did feel Leon's hand pat her head, which sort of made her smile a little (Leon expected this).

"Look, I know you must feel frustrated. I am too, but that time has passed," Leon said comfortingly. "We have decent positions on the grid, and you wouldn't want to mess up your debut as a pro driver, right?"

"Uh…" Maria blushed out of embarrassment. "Yeah!"

Leon smiled, and motioned his younger cousin back to the BMW Team Canada garage. "That's all anyone's asking for."

* * *

**Whew! That was exhausting!**


	8. Green

**Now… we return to where the prologue left off!**

**Also, after looking at updates, I've dropped the "-" in "Class One", since that's what the DTM calls it (and now Super GT!). So it'll be called "Class One" now. It's only a minor change! Also, I've made the Mercedes in this story to be a little more generic since the real-life Mercedes created a new DTM machine: the C63 DTM. So I'm sticking to the 'C-Coupé' name but calling it 'C-Coupé DTM'.**

**Here's for Luna TFK Watson, alex 988, and DeathX... the start of the FIA C1TM.**

* * *

_**Chapter eight: Green**_

**Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, United States**

The **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** on pole position was first to enter the first corner, with much of the other nineteen Class One touring cars in tow. The cheering of spectators in the stands, despite their vast numbers, was no match for the sound of buzzing engines of Class One.

Twenty touring cars, battling for control of the field, struggled to enter the first corner all at once. Almost half had the luxury of entering the inside line, particularly those who started on the left side of the circuit, while others had to take the outside. This provided opportunities for overtaking from the start.

It was, however, a struggle to not collide with anyone. The circuit was so narrow and crowded that everyone wondered how a collision wasn't possible

"_Okay, you two, remember the golden rule_," Leon heard his team engineer say through the radio. "_To finish first, first you have to finish. Bring the car in one piece, and focus._"

This engineer was an American who went by the name of Walton Durant. A Californian local, he studied motorsport engineering at Perdue University before applying for a job with BMW Team Canada. Dr. Dan Hilbert, already an administrator with the firm, saw to recommending the engineers personally before they were chosen. The end result was a handful of team engineers, mostly Canadian and American, and some British, eager to help the team to success; with a small number of German engineers sent straight from the BMW factory to provide works and technical support.

If Durant hadn't been involved with BMW Team Canada, he would have liked to spend more time in the garage with his wife and son, but at the encouragement of the both of them, they couldn't see him turning down an opportunity to work with a factory team. And so, Durant was happily working alongside the motorsport team, and he promised he would do his best to support them.

Almost all the Class One touring cars soon singled out into a line when they exited the first corner save for a few who were battling neck-and-neck. Loud buzzing cracked the Californian air in half as the brightly-coloured machines forced their might forward to accelerate astonishingly quickly.

It was a fierce duel between the cars who wanted to grab early and aggressive overtaking opportunities from the beginning, in the interest of their respective engineers who wanted to make things quick. The others, such as both BMW Team Canada's engineers, preferred consistency and sought to keep things clean, and stick with the racing line.

"_The field is getting into formation now. Let's try to survive the first two laps before we try to fight for higher positions. Get into the race line for now until further notice,_" Durant said. "_Defend your position. Here they come!_"

In his mirrors, Leon saw the Class One touring cars hot on his back, among them were the **Monster Energy** and the **Toshiba DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupés**. Their near identical matte black paints, complete with red-silver and green-gold liveries respectively, drew closer. The two Mercedes fell into line, but they appeared to be using Leon's slipstream to gain an edge.

Wait, where was Maria?

Maria's BMW M4 DTM had been overtaken by the two Mercedes!

_Oh no you don't_, Leon thought. He had to hold onto P7 (seventh) for now, with Maria apparently dropping to P10 (tenth) from P8 (eighth). Leon didn't blame her, since this was her first professional race. Perhaps she needed more training.

"_Maria. Hold strong,_" Durant advised. "_You're doing well. You'll be fine._"

At the apex leading to the uphill section, Maria braked as late as she could so she could try to cut in between the two Mercedes. It was a risky move, but she was able to manage. Within seconds, she split between the two Mercedes, and the pearl Crystal White BMW in i8 colours was in attacking and defending position.

As far as Maria was concerned, everyone was moving at almost identical pacing. If she had more time to think, she would have been impressed by the close level of competition the FIA had put into Class One.

"_Well done, Maria. Now defend that eighth position for two laps! We just need points!_" It was Dr. Hilbert who said this, which was a slight change to what Maria was accustomed to, but she pressed on to follow Leon closely, but not too close.

Once again, at the point the cars began to enter the final sector, nothing changed much in terms of the front positions. Only at the back, however, was there a lot of progress and fighting amongst the field.

* * *

The **Oracle Nissan GT-R** was not in the best position to attack for a podium, let alone for points. Given it was the first race, perhaps the race shouldn't be taken too seriously as many cars on the grid still had potential to be developed and mastered. Behind the wheel and under her helmet, Luna Watson had to start from P16 (sixteenth position).

She wasn't feeling good either. After her supposed blocking of Maria Lougheed and the penalty handed from the FIA investigation, her team principal and engineers had given her a dressing down. She was forced to discuss the matter with both the principal and the Nissan representative for about two hours before the race started, and by then she was in a bad mental state.

The initial strategy the Accelerated Racing team had put together was in pieces, so the principal and the engineers hastily constructed another one within twelve hours. There was a huge issue of when to exactly pit in for a change of tyres, and the call would be left to the engineers.

Taking advantage of the limited space she had with the **Tesco Lexus RC F** in front, Luna made her move to overtake the Lexus on the corners before the uphill rise. She almost narrowly clipped the sides of their cars, but happily she didn't. In short, it was a daring overtake Luna just made, and it allowed her to make the jump to P15 (fifteenth).

_That's a start_, she thought. _I have 50 laps to cover, anyway._

She felt her Nissan roll over the kerbs, but she could also feel the side tyre rumble over dirt and sand as well.

"_Avoid hitting the dirt, Luna,_" her engineer said. "_We can't risk any possible mechanical problems, you know._"

It was difficult to conceive how she would be able to fight for points finish from here, but anything could happen within the hour, Luna knew. She made her moves quickly past the Corkscrew chicane, trying her best follow the inside line, and followed the **Petronas Lexus RC F** and the **Endless Nissan GT-R** in front. The two Super GT500 machines in front of Luna were battling neck-and-neck for dominance, such that they were not only just colliding with each other, but that they were both occupying the space of the track, preventing any hope for overtake.

It was fortunate that as a GT500 car, in which its specs far outmatched those of a GT3 car, the Nissan GT-R proved to be very powerful in terms of speed as well as having plenty of downforce and balance, not to mention the same being said for the Lexus RC F. The downforce proved useful when Luna raced over the kerbs, where the GT-R actually _stuck_ to the kerbstones. Of course, despite that, it still wasn't easy to overtake, as much practice as Luna had with the car, since almost everyone was following the same racing line and the kerbs.

There were too many GT-Rs in the field, as far as Luna was concerned. However, she expected the reason for having so many customer teams of Nissan was either that the GT-R was extremely popular and well-known as a supercar, or that they had heard of the feats of the legendary MOTUL Autech GT-R which had been successful in the Super GT.

"_Push the pace, Luna, push the pace_," Luna's engineer instructed via radio. "_Overtake when either your speed or the track permits it. For now, put some pressure on those two cars in front of you._"

The Corkscrew complex witnessed the point where the pole-sitting **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** and its sister car the black-and-white **Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM** continued to lead the field. They were aggressive, as they kept the field from overtaking them by following the racing line as fast and clean as they could. Blocking was out of the question, if they didn't want to risk a penalty from the FIA. No matter, since the two cars looked like they were about to pull ahead of the field and the cars behind did their best to catch up. Was it because all the rest of the drivers were inexperienced? Not possible, except perhaps for Maria Lougheed who was only 19 but still managed to qualify eighth.

For Luna, practice on the Corkscrew proved to be worthwhile as she had memorised the optimal braking points of the whole sector. Although there was the luxury of number signs on the side counting down to key turns of the track, much of the braking was left to each drivers' judgement. Needless to say, as Luna felt her GT-R slow to about second gear, the cars dipped down the steep corner and maneuvered to the next turn below.

With the cars slowing down, Luna seized an aggressive opportunity to overtake the **Endless Nissan GT-R** which, instead of deciding to follow the racing line, had chosen to remain beside the **Petronas Lexus RC F** and had taken the outside of the Corkscrew hoping to stay close to the Nissan. Luna seized the opportunity to take the inside, following the **Endless Nissan GT-R** past the Corkscrew. The **Petronas Lexus RC F**'s driver, Ken Kaihatsu, suddenly realised the mistake he had made and was forced to draw his speed back to avoid a collision.

"_Way to go, Luna, that's what we like to see_," Luna's engineer praised.

"That part is my favourite part of the track," Luna said, while paying close attention to the sections ahead. "Expect my fastest lap sector to be around there."

After slowing to a low gear to enter the final corner, Luna Watson maneuvered her Nissan GT-R to follow the thirteen Class One cars ahead of her. As long as she remained consistent, a finish in the points was perfectly possible. It was only a matter of time before she caught up to her sister car, the pearl blue **Microsoft Nissan GT-R**.

* * *

The motorsport fans of the Class One Touring Masters cheered loudly when the rush of Class One cars, from DTM and Super GT, sped past the final straight and past the start line. Small horns and bells, brought from others, rang loudly as the roar of cars overpowered all noise present.

In the emerald-green eyes of Shade Nighsworn, through the gap of his helmet, he kept his hands on the race wheel and watched the **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM** in P7 (seventh position) very closely. The BMW ahead had a decent and steady pace, so in the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM**, his engineer instructed Shade was to follow the BMW for now. At the same time, Aurora held the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM** at bay.

Already past the first corner, Shade briefly saw in his mirror the number of Class One cars attempting to gain the advantage on the inside. Some cars, mostly Nissan and Lexus, clashed at each other with their sides colliding, but consequently they all fell back to keep to the racing line.

The vast Californian sunlight made it partly difficult to see, with much of the light reflecting off the runoff areas to partly obscure Shade's vision. The **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM** was white with pearl effect, save for its coloured HBC stripes, where the sun reflected off the white and into Shade's eyes. Fortunately, the HBC stripes shielded some of the light.

It wasn't the best feeling Shade had right now. He had never felt this hot in a race car, with the heat of the Mercedes AMG 2.0 L 4-cylinder turbocharged engine burning into his body, and it didn't help that he was wearing a racing suit. Mercedes-Benz had vast experience with turbocharged engines thanks to their Formula One experience, and Shade could slightly feel its effects in his DTM machine.

If he stopped for a mere moment, Shade could hear the sound of his heartbeat in his ears, but such was overwhelmed by the roar of the AMG engine and the instructions of his engineer.

"That BMW's getting into my eyes," he complained.

"_Only overtake when it's safe. We need to make sure we find a comfortable pace in the field,_" the engineer replied. "_Focus on the race line. If Aurora manages to get the inside on you, let her pass._"

"Don't worry, we've got a strategy in mind," Shade said. "Improvise, if we must."

By the time Shade had made his way uphill and following the race line, he noticed in his rear mirror the **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** disappear from sight, and he knew his sister was overtaking. As the engineer directed, he kept his speed constant and allowed Aurora to slip in front of him, where he would be able to draft her slipstream for the time being.

Shade partly regretted not drinking enough water before getting himself onto the race seat. He knew that he should have known better to drink more water in a place as hot as California. It was too late for regrets. At least Shade did drink _some _water before the race, so his mind would be functional to say the least.

_Keep a cool head, man,_ he thought. That was ironic, since it seemed difficult to keep cool at the present.

There were more straights than turns for the time being, and Shade – while trying his best to force speed out of his Mercedes – desperately tried keeping up with his sister. It was a good thing there was the draft for him to use.

Not far behind, Aurora was under increasing pressure from Maria Lougheed's BMW M4 DTM. As Shade began to pull away after passing the Corkscrew, Aurora found her Mercedes battling tightly with the BMW. Green and gold on black fought against blue on white. It was a wonder how two machines kept their pace together, and the cars behind, namely the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** and the **Red Bull Nissan GT-R**, found it increasingly worrisome to see the two almost colliding but they stayed close. Eventually, at the next corner, the BMW managed to pull into the kerb, catching Aurora by surprise and was forced to slow down the Mercedes – thus allowing the BMW to reclaim the ninth position. Even more unfortunate for Aurora was that the Honda behind took advantage of her slow reaction to overtake Aurora from the inside corner.

_ARGH!_ Aurora screamed in her mind, but she kept focusing on the track and remained on the race line. If she really wanted to, she would have rammed the Honda. Her revenge would have to wait.

The **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM**, now in P10 (tenth position), consistently kept pace with the Honda in front but held the **Red Bull Nissan GT-R** at bay.

Wait, what exactly was that car in her mirrors? A pearl red Nissan with vinyls of black and white… it was the **Oracle Nissan GT-R**.

_That Nissan's coming up fast_, Aurora thought, while completing the second-to-last corner of the Laguna Seca. "Hey, the red Nissan behind me is hounding down. What should I do?"

"_Maintain pace with the Honda. Keep to the line_," the engineer instructed.

Up ahead, Shade seemed to notice for sure that his sister was no longer behind him, but instead saw the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM** and the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT**. This put his strategy with Aurora into doubt, so he would have to focus on fighting for points instead.

* * *

About halfway through the race, 25 laps in, the number 0 **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** driven by Alain Blanc was still running strong in P1. Unfortunately, its sister car the number 2 **Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM** driven by Matias Schulz was accused of cutting the racing line at the second corner and was forced to take a drive-through penalty. ("_Drive-through penalty. Repeat. Drive-through penalty. Into the pit lane this lap,_" the WRT engineer ordered.) This cost the car about eight positions.

At the BMW Team Canada garage, mechanics and pit stop members were ordered by Dr. Hilbert to get the wheel guns and fresh Hankook 'prime' tyres for an upcoming stop. Walton Durant had his hands on the radio headphones on his head, while looking at the timesheet.

"Pit window is open, Walton," one of the engineers told him.

"Okay, Leon. Box now. Box now," Walton instructed. From the live timesheet, the map, and the onboard cameras, Leon was past the Corkscrew and descending downhill. That was good. It would leave plenty of time for Leon to receive the message before entering the pits.

"_Roger_," Leon replied.

After the events of the past 20 laps, the battle between Leon's BMW and Shade's Mercedes-Benz, now running in P7 and P8 (seventh and eighth) was separated by less than a second. Shade hadn't pitted yet, and Leon was instructed to do so at the moment.

Four Hankook 'prime' tyres for Leon, still wrapped up in tyre warmers, were rolled out by pit stop crew members to the space outside. The air jack was prepared already, handled by one member, and the four wheel guns were readied by others. They moved into position as they had practiced from earlier. Before Hilbert's eyes, things were going according to plan. The pit crew, all of them dressed in the BMW Canada team overalls, moved into position. On each suit was printed at most one of two sponsors, namely either BMW EfficientDynamics or Hudson's Bay Company. They all wore special helmets complete with protective visors and guards.

All around them, they could hear the sounds of Class One touring cars zipping past the final straight and the start line. GT-Rs and RC Fs mostly went by, whereas more GT-Rs were crowding the pit lane. Such a case was the candy-effect pink **Red Bull Nissan GT-R** driven by Michelle Martinez who passed by the BMW garage for a pit stop. The fourteen BMW team members watched briefly at the Virgin Racing USA team who started initiating their change.

But Durant made sure they were paying attention to their own stop. "_He's coming in now. Repeat. He's coming in now._"

With warm Hankook tyres in hand, the tyre 'carriers' waited for the impending arrival of Leon alongside the wheel gun 'operators', with additional members acting as 'catchers'. The 'jack', holding the air pump that would inject pressurised air into the car to raise jacks beneath the car, would wait at the side. An extra member, who held a sign pole to direct where the car was supposed to stop, also stood waiting.

Soon enough, the half-white BMW M4 DTM, with Hudson's Bay colours stretching from the front of the bonnet, across the roof, and to the back, was in plain sight. The labels 'Hudson's Bay' were evident on the bonnet, the roof, and its doors, alongside other smaller sponsors like Hankook and Royal Dutch Shell.

When Leon's M4 had come to a stop in the right position, as directed by a team member with the sign pole, the other thirteen pit members went to work. The jack injected the M4 with air to raise pneumatic air jacks below. After that, each operator drilled their wheel gun into their respective tyre, removed it to pass to their accompanying catcher, and backed off to allow the carrier to place a fresh Hankook tyre in place, where the operator would screw the tyre in place afterward.

After that the jack was unplugged, the **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM** was back on solid ground, and the extremely loud buzzing of the four-cylinder engine followed after. Leon had lost a little bit of time there, but it was natural to have a pit stop, and he was still in contention to score a decent position. Now with fresh tyres, it could definitely perform better. He kept to the speed limit of the pit lane, and began his exit onto the track.

However, this was the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The exit involved traversing the same line of the first turn too, which was a little of an irritant.

Elsewhere, in P7 (seventh position) Maria was chasing the white-with-red **Mabuchi Motor Nissan GT-R**. The pit window had certainly made things different regarding the order of cars. Maria was facing against cars of different level, and the field was vastly spread out. Gaps between two cars ranged from half a second to fifteen entire seconds!

Ahead and behind, the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** and **Oracle Nissan GT-R** were crunching gaps. Not to mention the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** had pulled off way ahead of her. This information was clear on the live timing screen.

"Keep the pace, Maria, keep the pace. We'll let you know when it's best to box. That pit window won't stay open forever," Durant said. "How are the tyres feeling?"

She was in no condition to answer until she had gotten to smoother ground. That is, anywhere that was relatively straight. When Maria began travelling uphill, she replied, "_I don't think they can take another two laps at most._"

"Keep the pace_,_" Durant reminded, and further warned, "If those tyres aren't doing well, you better preserve them. Don't push too hard or else you'll destroy the tyres and you might have to retire."

But keeping that command in mind wasn't easy with the Honda and _this_ dreaded Nissan attempting to overtake her. By keeping to the racing line, Maria was able to prevent aggressive overtaking by her opponents behind.

It wouldn't be long before Maria would come in to do her tyre change. The BMW Team Canada crew began rolling out more Hankook tyres wrapped in tyre warmers. If what they were told was true, Maria would be arriving very, very, soon. The operators, the catchers, the carriers, and the jack were readying the procedure once more. Sure enough, about three minutes later, with the sound of Class One cars passing through the straight, as well as the **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** dropping by the pit box for a change.

At the same time, the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** _and_ the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** was heading through the pit lane behind the Mercedes, which signalled to Michael and Dr. Hilbert that Maria had been overtaken. For the cars themselves, they both stopped to switch into fresh Bridgestone tyres. While the Audi WRT team also used Hankook; Yokohama and Dunlop also supplied the Japanese cars alongside Bridgestone.

Shortly after, the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**, in its trademark colours reminiscent of the BMW i8, in Crystal White and Sophisto Grey, began pulling into the pit lane for its mandatory stop. After it had halted at the post, the jack was put in, the old Hankook tyres removed, and the new Hankook tyres screwed on. The jack was removed, the car came down to earth, and the loud buzzing of its engine once again deafened the ears of everyone around once more, signalling the takeoff of **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**.

* * *

**There we go! The very first race of the FIA C1TM.**

**I will admit that I will not have the patience to write about 18 entire races, so I probably will end up writing about certain parts about each race, if any. It doesn't help that I've been focusing on two other stories! That is, Culinary Rivals and Agent Mars.**

**It _really _doesn't help that I'm starting my second year at university, so I've got my work cut out.**

**I'll be back for more of the FIA Class One Touring Masters!**


	9. Sponsorship Perks

**Important notice! For those of you who have noticed or not, I seem to be having a huge issue with deciding what exactly is powering the cars! At first, I was using an earlier spec where the engine was a V8, and then it was a 2.0L V4 to a 2.0L four-cylinder.**

**Let me be clear on this! The Class One specification now says they are to use ****single-turbocharged 2.0L straight-four engines****. They pump out around 500 bhp.**

**Also, I've decided to change one team name a little. You probably won't notice it too much.**

**Hope that clears a lot of things up.**

**All in all, I'm still pretty busy, even after the new year I chose to relax and not get any writing done. So, here's a chapter to make up for it! Happy New Year (belated). For Luna TFK Watson, alex 988, and DeathXTheXKidd, I'm very happy you're keeping up!**

* * *

_**Chapter nine: Sponsorship Perks**_

**Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, United States: two hours later**

"_The inaugural race win of the FIA C1TM has gone to the pole-sitting Audi of Alain Blanc!_" the commentator said. "_Although his teammate Matias Schulz certainly fell behind after a fault in the pit box…_"

Post-race results were posted not long after the race was finished. Overall, it had been a smooth race, although an incident at the Corkscrew meant one of the cars had to retire.

**Class One North America R1, Laguna Seca:**

**P1. A. Blanc – Audi, Audi Sport Team WRT**

**P2. H. Matsubara – Nissan, Rising Sun Motorsports**

**P3. O. Davis – Nissan, Accelerated Racing by NISMO**

**P4. S. Nighsworn – Mercedes-Benz, X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG**

**P5. L. Pinetree – BMW, BMW Team Canada**

**P6. L. Watson – Nissan, Accelerated Racing by NISMO**

**P7. P. O'Carroll – Honda, Honda Team Constellar**

**P8. M. Lougheed – BMW, BMW Team Canada**

**P9. M. Schulz – Audi, Audi Sport Team WRT**

**P10. B. Hills – Honda, Honda Team Constellar**

The Belgian national anthem was playing when the top three finishers stood silently on the podium on the high ground, where everyone could see them. Their helmets and gloves were off, their hands behind their backs, and Alain Blanc was merely all smiles. Beside him, Haru Matsubara and Oliver Davis were smiling as well. To make their opening debut in the C1TM, albeit having Super GT experience, and finishing on the podium was reward enough.

The Belgian national anthem played once more, and this time in salute of the team who had engineered the Audi RS 5 DTM to its maiden win in the Class-One Touring Masters. Speaking of which, the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM**, along with the **Mabuchi Motor Nissan GT-R** and the **Microsoft Nissan GT-R**, were sitting still in the _parc fermé_ as the ceremony was ongoing.

After the second anthem had finished its fanfare, the fans below cheered on as some leading figures of the event, like presidents and authority representatives, presented the podium finishers with their trophies in ascending order. Oliver Davis came first, shaking his hand with an official before happily receiving his trophy from a vice-president of a major American firm, likewise with Haru Matsubara. For Alain Blanc, he was present with the winner's trophy by an IMSA official. The Audi team principal was standing on the side of the podium to receive the constructer's trophy.

The fans below cheered even harder at the point Alain Blanc had received the trophy, holding it high in the air, and then placing down. But the loudest cheering came from the members of Audi Sport Team WRT. As was tradition, there were bottles of champagne readied at their feet. After the presentation, a separate fanfare played, as the drivers took their bottles, gave them a thorough shake and began spraying each other with champagne in celebration.

On the ground below, Luna Watson stood with her racing crew of Accelerated Racing by NISMO in celebration of her teammate achieving the team's first podium success. True, Luna was partly disappointed to not have been up there. However, her engineer pointed out that to fight from P16 (sixteenth) on the grid to P6 (sixth) was a huge achievement, and helped gain the first of the team's championship points. Unlike the **Microsoft Nissan GT-R** which was recognised as a podium finisher, Luna's **Oracle Nissan GT-R** was safely back in the team garage where, after the ceremony, the car would face a post-race inspection before the team would begin preparing to transport the cars to the next venue in Austin.

"You may be the number one driver," her team engineer said, "but honestly, I think you would have been a reckoning force had you not had those grid penalties. On the plus side, we've proven today that our cars are favourites, wouldn't you say?"

"Oliver's performance says it all," Luna simply said. "We'll have reason to celebrate when he gets back! We've got a double points finish after all!"

There was no need to celebrate, in a way, in the garage where X-Tech Racing was based. The **Monster Energy **and **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** had safely made their way back to the garage. Shade Nighsworn, in the former car, was first to arrive after completing the post-race lap and had his engine switched off once he was parked in front. He unbuckled his safety harnesses before stepping out his car, but not before setting the car in neutral gear. After that, the pit crew pushed it back into the garage, as the car was still in neutral gear.

As Shade started to loosen the buckles on his helmet, he watched in the distance the Mercedes-Benz with which his sister was driving in. By the time he had removed his helmet and HANS device from his head and his car safely in the garage, the sister car with his younger sister within pulled in front of the garage.

He could tell that she looked pretty discouraged the way she removed her helmet.

"It's alright, Aurora. It's only the first race," he said, trying to comfort her.

The reaction Shade got was a hug from his sister. Now that they had a look in each other's faces, they could tell they both experiencing a flood of emotions. They had just completed their first professional race, and it was hard to describe what they were going through.

"I'm… happy though," Aurora whispered, her voice shaky. "I didn't finish in the top ten, but you got points for the team! What more could all of us ask for?"

Shade opened his mouth to say something, but then realised that that was exactly what he was going to say in the first place.

Afterwards, they gave the team a hand with leaving the car in the garage. However, as per FIA C1TM standards, the team was not allowed to do anything to the cars – where they had to be brought out to the _parc fermé_ for the C1TM stewards to initiate post-race inspections. When that was over with, Shade and Aurora went over to a side table in the garage for a seat, where the X-Tech Racing principal had set aside two water bottles for them on the table for their benefit. As well, there a couple of Monster Energy drinks on the table, supplied by the sponsor.

Aurora was first to sit and open one of the water bottles.

"You know, I really thought we had that race down," she said. "Our strategy was working pretty well for a time!"

"I know," Shade replied, taking one of the Monster Energy drinks instead. "But there's nothing we can do since we had to come and pit in around the halfway point. That messed up the strategy, but come on, it's the first race. Nothing too serious, I guess? But like you said, we got points!"

They felt exhausted somehow, and continued to sit around and rest up, with Aurora gulping down plenty of water and Shade opening the Monster Energy drink, and hearing the familiar _crack_ of an opening can. The mechanics, meanwhile, were in the process of packing up their tools as they waited for the stewards' signal to bring the cars out for inspection.

* * *

Carina Hills, like all the other drivers, had safely brought her vehicle back to the pit garage. She had received news that she had finished in an astonishing 10th place, which was enough to score Honda Team Constellar one point towards the drivers' and team championship. The **IKEA Honda NSX-GT** with start number 6 pulled in, Carina clicking the left shift paddle once or twice to change it to neutral gear, and allowed the pit crew to push it back into the garage.

"One point," she whispered happily.

She stepped outside to unfasten the restraints on her helmet and finally removed it from her head, and the HANS device came off shortly after. Now feeling like she deserved a break

Sponsor Pepsi had generously supplied a few bottles of Gatorade sports drinks for her consumption. Realising there was only one bottle on the table, that left Carina to ask one of the mechanics, "Hey, where's Percy?"

"Oh, he's off somewhere,' the mechanic replied. "Not that it's our business, but he checked with the principal before he left."

Carina frowned. Normally, she would have expected her teammate to adhere to debriefing like a normal racing team would. But if the principal was okay with it, then maybe she could let it go a little. At the very least, debriefing wouldn't happen until past the post-race inspection.

She opened one of the Gatorade bottles and drank it refreshingly.

Percy O'Carroll, on the other hand, was off paying a visit to the BMW Team Canada garage. The two BMWs of Maria Lougheed and Leon Pinetree were stationary in preparation of post-race inspection, but as the podium ceremony was still going on, it would still be a while before the cars could be rolled out.

It was just his luck he found Maria alone watching the ceremony on the monitor.

"Hello, gorgeous," he whispered in Maria's ear.

An appalled reaction was Maria's response. Before she could say anything, Percy held up a hand.

"Now, now, I understand how you feel, but hey, you raced well out there," he said. "So, how about one date?"

Maria blinked. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. This seemed to have made Percy quite happy, as if he had successfully flattered her. But Maria regained her composure, replying, "Don't be ridiculous, and could you please leave?"

Percy did not back off, at least until Leon showed up from behind. When Leon saw the scene, he already realised something was out of place, and mainly because someone was standing there in apparel that did not belong to BMW Team Canada, nor did he have some sort of permit. Casually, Leon clapped Percy's shoulder, which forced the latter to turn around.

"Hey, could you listen to the lady?" Leon said, in a friendly manner. "We're asking you to leave."

"Mind your own business," Percy shot back. He then took a moment to examine Leon top to bottom, where Leon was wearing the racing overalls of a BMW works driver. "It's not like there's anything personal between you and her, right? You and her are just teammates, right?"

Leon scoffed. "We're more than that, and please, we need to prepare for our debrief. Now listen to what the lady said and leave, or things could get serious."

Percy shrugged and left the garage. Leon, subsequently, looked to his younger cousin, whose face was slightly pink.

"You okay, Maria?"

Instead of responding immediately, Maria gave Leon a hug, and then saying, "Thanks a bunch. You're the best, Leon!"

"Anything for my younger cousin," Leon said back. They let go of their embrace after, and soon enough Michael Fong, the BMW Motorsport assistant director, popped by to motion the two cousins for debrief.

On the other hand, it was clear the podium ceremony was drawing to a close, with the sound outside gradually becoming quieter. While the main team members went off for debrief, the mechanics helped the race stewards to push the two BMW M4 DTMs to the _parc fermé_ for post-race inspection at last.

The FIA Class One Touring Masters rulebook dictated that C1TM event organisers and race marshals would jointly carry out the post-race inspections for each car. In the aftermath of the podium ceremony, where at least half the spectators had already gone, the marshals had set up measures to begin the inspections. The podium finishers' cars had been cleared and back into their respective garages, and in time for the proper equipment to be set in place.

Sooner or later, Maria and Leon were waiting in the engineers' room in the garage with some engineers from BMW Team Canada, BMW Motorsport, and Michael Fong. Hilbert wasn't in the room yet, and debrief would only start when he was in.

* * *

"Where have you been?!" was the reaction Percy received from his girlfriend. Percy's reaction was absolutely neutral, though he wore a face that suggested he couldn't care less. This made Percy's girlfriend somewhat annoyed.

"What? Is there something I should be concerned about?" Percy asked back.

"The engineers have been looking all over for you! Plus, your team principal is already going through debrief and he asked me if I've seen you. Now I do!"

Percy shrugged, but he complied with going to the room where Team Constellar had been undergoing debrief. In the room, sponsor Pepsi had provided more bottles of Gatorade in the room, so Percy helped himself as he took his seat. His girlfriend had to wait outside.

"You've missed quite a bit," the team principal said with a Manchester accent. "So to fill you in, Percy, I'll have to say for a first race, we are all satisfied. Firstly, I'd like to extend congratulations to both you and Bev–"

"That's Carina!" Carina interrupted quickly.

"–erly. To be honest, we're all impressed that you've amassed the first of your championship points and in total, you've brought 5 points for all of us. Now that doesn't seem like much, but we can take it as a good sign."

On the contrary, Carina hardly took her addressed name to be anything but good (for her). She appeared wanting to scream at the principal, but she kept her mouth shut. Percy merely reclined on his seat and waited for debrief to continue.

"On the other hand, we must make preparations to have our cars transported out in two days' time," a Constellar engineer pointed out. "The C1TM have supplied us transportation to bring the cars to Austin, so we'll need all our equipment packed up and ready to go. On the whole, our car has plenty of potential, and if Honda can bring in some new developments to the car regarding aerodynamics, that would be useful. However, it might be problematic to have that change go through with the FIA. If Honda could upgrade the engine a little more, we just might manage this."

"That goes without saying," the engineer continued, "we'll need to have the engines transported out of here safely. The C1TM group, alongside arranging transport for our cars, have provided transport to have the engines shipped too, and security measures provided as well… Carina, are you okay?"

Everyone in the room shifted their gazes to Carina, who was still in a fit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, although she had to force her face to relax.

* * *

Both of the Mercedes of X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG were safely in the pit garage once more, following post-race inspection. At this point, the team was halfway through organising who would clean up what with regards to their positions. Engineers had laptops folded and stored away while mechanics put away equipment.

As well, other mechanics had to work together to put away spare parts and load them onto a closed-off storage. That storage would then be loaded onto transport like the cars would where they would be shipped off to Austin.

For Shade and Aurora Nighsworn, all they mostly did was head off to a changing room. Shade went to change first, where he exchanged his Mercedes racing suit for jeans, a black t-shirt, combat boots, and fingerless gloves. If it was his way, he would have worn the black leather jacket he brought with him, but he still had to look nice in a racing environment. So he ended up wearing the team jacket instead, with the colours of X-Tech Racing and AMG.

Aurora went into the changing room and came out shortly after in a black pinstripe collared t-shirt complemented with white, although her choice of sleeves – shiny metallic green on the left and gold on the right – said something quite different. She abstained from wearing a vest for now and instead wore the team jacket. She'd look more professional that way.

On the other hand, Aurora opted to wear an attractive black-and-gray skirt, which moreover reminded the team they had a female driver amongst them.

After leaving the changing room, Aurora and Shade each individually saw to packing their own equipment too. The HANS device was one thing, but they had to have their racing suits, shoes, fireproof wear, and their helmets stored away personally. Only after then could they spare some downtime. Maybe they could grab something to eat while they were here.

"I'll let one of our engineers know we're heading out," Shade told his sister.

"I'll see if we can get ourselves a ride," Aurora said back. "I mean, come on. We're in California! There has to be _something_ we can try out here! Here, bro, I'll see if we can get ourselves a ride from one of the staff. Maybe the boss might arrange us something. Here, I'll take your bag."

"Maybe yes, maybe no…" Shade grinned, handing over his relatively heavy bag to her. Although Aurora was a year his junior, him being 24-years old and her being 23, he was surprised how strong she was when she carried their bags away. He shook his head, smiling to himself, and then went over to notify one of the engineers.

* * *

At where BMW Team Canada was stationed, Maria and Leon were still in their racing attire, with their helmets and HANS devices on the table. Their clothes were in the change rooms and it was only a matter of time before they could swap into casual clothing.

"I think… I'll just head back to the hotel to get some sleep," Maria smiled. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that kind of pressure from a DTM car."

"You'll have to get used to it, though," Leon chuckled. "Fair enough. Head back to the hotel, have a shower and get changed, and you'll be rested up for sure! Or… are you just thinking of sleeping in?"

"Both," Maria nodded. "Plus, my mom and dad will want to know how I'm doing! Plus my aunt and uncle too."

"You mean _my_ parents," Leon scoffed. "I get the point."

The BMW M4s were back in the garage in the same state they were in before the post-race inspection. Now that they were there, it was up to Hilbert to perform the administrative procedures to have the cars transported via the team's trailer, and motor home. Within the next half hour, Maria walked out of the change rooms in one of her neat polo shirts from Dutch-based Mexx, with pants of the same marque. Although Mexx didn't operate in Canada anymore since they had liquidated, Hudson's Bay Company – BMW Team Canada's sponsor – generously supplied a few Mexx-branded shirts to Maria. On the other hand, _this_ Mexx polo was different – it was slate gray with a silver trim she had bought for herself.

Leon eventually came out right after Maria did. He opted for his personal clothes as well, with an unbuttoned blazer over a crewneck shirt, jeans, as well as a fedora. Maria smiled, as it was that fedora that made her cousin so easy to recognise. After meeting up, they had a word with Hilbert to head to the hotel where the team was staying at. FIA C1TM had arranged accommodation at nearby Monterey, so that was exactly where Maria and Leon were headed.

However, there was no way of getting into the hotel anytime soon. Outside the hotel was a crowd of reporters, who were very keen on interviewing the youngest female racing driver in motorsport history. It was fortunate that the driver's cousin was able to charm half the reporters into the leaving.

It wasn't before long that Maria got to make a phone call to her parents in Coquitlam. Between them, Leon, and Leon's parents (also Maria's aunt and uncle), there was plenty to talk about the race. Afterwards, Maria threw herself onto bed to collapse into a deep, exhausted, sleep. An amused Leon remained for the next hour to talk to his parents, and moreover, he missed them. If Maria was going to be staying here to sleep, he told them, he might as well head out to grab dinner alone.

* * *

**Whew! There, the first race of the C1TM is over!**


	10. Through the Heat of Battle

**How LONG has it been since I've updated?! Too long. It's been FIVE months! Aside from the fact that I was at school, slaving away at studying, and working on two other massive stories at the same time. It's a killer!**

**Apologies to my reviewers ( , Luna TFK Watson, DeathXTheXKidd, and Amateur Experimentalist) for the long update.**

* * *

_**Chapter ten: Through the Heat of Battle**_

**Circuit of the Americas, United States: one week later**

For Maria Lougheed, under civilian circumstances, she would have wanted a nice casual drive on the very track that had hosted the United States Grand Prix in the FIA Formula One World Championship, but whatever current circumstances she had right now clearly demanded more.

Round 2 of the FIA Class One Touring Masters, and Race 2 of Class One North America, went on and dragged itself into Austin, Texas. While it was still a bright and sunny day, with the familiar southern US heat burning the Circuit of the Americas hot already, it had only gotten hotter with the action that was occurring on it. So hot that it was conceivable that the tyres could melt into the track. Hankook – which supported the DTM cars; Bridgestone, Yokohama, or Dunlop – supporting the GT500.

The Class One touring cars, DTM and GT500 alike, duelled with one another corner after corner. Hondas battled Audis. BMWs battled Nissans. Lexuses battled Mercedes. The heat of battle seemed hotter than the track itself.

Within each car beat its heart, in the unusually powerful turbocharged 2.0-litre inline/straight-four engines. Four pistons, lined up in a straight line, pumped up and down to transfer fuel pressure to the crankshaft below. Flywheels did what they could to keep up with the crankshaft itself, yet also keep up with their respective drivers' constant use of dual-clutch transmission. It was a wonder how their respective manufacturers could create an engine so reliable that it would take time for the flywheels to wear out.

Watching the track carefully through the gap of her helmet, Maria did her best to keep up with the **PETRONAS Lexus RC F** in front. Texas was hot enough already, so it didn't help the 19-year old BMW works driver that she, along with the Crystal White BMW M4 DTM pumping out the warmth of 500 bhp, was being burned alive in the cockpit. Sweat trailed down her forehead, and it was hard to breathe. The heat was enough to drive anyone to the brink of dehydration, and although Maria had plenty of water to drink prior, she still needed more.

Thankfully, each C1TM driver had a mandatory water supply installed in the car as well. While the C1TM may not be as extreme as Formula One, it was still much more physically demanding than that of a regular GT car. A tube connected to a drink system in the cockpit supplied the driver with some measure of fluid not unlike how F1 cars did. With the circuit providing no shortage of straights, Maria could enjoy some of the slightly sweet sports drink that would restore her water, salt, and carbohydrate levels.

However, the heat and threat of dehydration was the least of Maria's worries.

Qualifying for this round of the C1TM was bad enough already. Even after the practice sessions, Maria couldn't find a comfortable rhythm with the track and so struggled to match the pace of the competition. Leon, though, performed slightly better, but not by much. No, they couldn't blame it on the car. That would be ridiculous, but at the pace they were going at, they were in bad shape.

For Dr. Dan Hilbert and Michael Fong, qualifying was a nightmare. Maria couldn't set a competitive time and only managed 14th on the grid. In the process, Leon suffered a puncture during the session and eventually had to manage a mere 18th on the grid. Effectively, from engineer Walton Durant's perspective, the two cars were in no shape to challenge for a podium finish. Let alone a points finish which, while possible, was the only plan of attack now.

It also did not help Maria much that Walton Durant notified Maria of her performance in the race in California. With the way Maria was driving the BMW M4, in that she often revved the engine to the limit, she would eventually blow the engine at that rate. That would not be useful to the team, Durant warned.

In effect, Maria would have one more thing to worry about.

* * *

"_We would have expected both Runway Racing and Virgin Racing USA to have been the home favourites_," the broadcaster said. "_But we can only see that the cars from both teams are struggling to match the pace of the front-runners! The Lexuses of Runway Racing and the Virgin Racing GT-Rs are really giving the BMWs a run for their money…_"

Alain Blanc, the driver with start number 0 of Audi Sport Team WRT, had secured the pole position, and in effect being the first and only driver of the C1TM to have scored back-to-back pole positions. It looked as if he would be the favourite to win the race, but the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** of Shade Nighsworn finished an impressive 4th in qualifying, with his sister Aurora a close 5th behind.

This, in effect, became an optimal striking point for the X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG racing team.

"_Your time is actually falling short to that of Shade's_," Aurora's engineer advised. "_Stay behind Shade for the time being. Push your pace, and when the time comes we'll be able to make places._"

A series of chicanes made up the next section of track the Nighsworn siblings had to come across. While it was essential that Aurora and Shade stick to their strategy, Aurora found it increasingly difficult to keep up with her brother. Not that Shade was trying to outpace her, but that she couldn't exactly keep up with Shade's racing lines.

Subsequently, Aurora was actually losing time between herself and her brother. They were already a third through the race, but the gap between her car and the sister car (not that she wasn't calling Shade her brother) had amassed to something like four seconds. At the very least, this was the hardest section of track for her, but that was all.

Looking further ahead, Aurora noticed the Royal Blue **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** and the Pearl Red **Oracle Nissan GT-R** fiercely duelling for 2nd. Their lines were so aggressive, she saw, that it seemed safer to leave them to fight it out. How was it possible to overtake those two?!

"Hey," Aurora said into her radio. "Got a plan to overtake the cars ahead of Shade? They seem like they're… overdoing it."

"_Just focus on the race, Aurora. Focus on the race_," the engineer advised. "_We'll figure out something during the pit window. And, we'll tell you when to box._"

After the chicanes had passed, Aurora was once again drafting behind the sister Mercedes in an effort to gain time. She was still comfortably in 5th, with Shade in 4th. If they could manage to get past the fierce duo of the Nissan and Honda ahead, there were potential podium finishes for the siblings.

* * *

Up ahead, however, the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** and the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** were locked in neck-to-neck battle. Their pace seemed evenly matched, with the cars taking the outside and inside lines of the curves wherever.

In Alain Blanc's perspective, it was discomforting to see the two cars breathing down his neck. If he could, he would have gladly let them past in a way to destroy each other, but that would mean forsaking his hard-earned pole position. His team wasn't ready for that.

Nevertheless, at the point where the Circuit of the Americas had its longest stretch of track, Alain Blanc found himself being overtaken by the Honda and the Nissan on both sides.

Percy O'Carroll did his best to fight off this Nissan, but he was surprised at how close this duel was. Fortunately for him, after overtaking the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** he was able to take the inside corner of the next turn that led to one of the many sharp turns of the track. However, the load roar of the Nismo-engineered engine on his side told him that the fight was far from finished.

Underneath the bonnet of the Honda, the turbocharger attached to the Class One-spec engine did all it could to force as much compressed air into the pistons' intake. A burst of explosive energy forced the pistons up and down and continued to generate power to the crankshaft below, which in turn transferred to the transmission and ultimately to the axles to spin the wheels.

With a lot of twists and turns up ahead that well exceeded 90 degrees each, there was little opportunity to for the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** and the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** to really gain the advantage on each other. It didn't help knowing there was a particularly wide turn that proved treacherous to stay consistent on, unless they were in formula cars, but that was another story.

Luna Watson briefly glanced at her left to see the same Honda desperately trying to challenge for her place. She was in 1st, and if she kept it like that, then maybe victory was in sight! Nevertheless, with the Honda NSX-GT beside her this close, she shuddered to think of how to fight it off. Luna could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, and she couldn't tell if the GT500 Nissan GT-R's engine was louder than her heartbeat.

Not to mention that Luna felt like the car was pushing her to the brink of physical exhaustion, were it not for the routine exercises she kept. The gravity forces hammered against her body, even if she was wearing a racing suit.

As the Nissan and the Honda battled neck-and-neck, they pulled further away from the field, and extending their gap between the car in 3rd. That is, Alain Blanc's red-and-black **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** which was doing its best to keep up with the leaders, but as the Audi made past several turns that transformed from small bends to hard chicanes, Alain Blanc found himself under pressure from the red-and-silver black **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM**.

Looking at his mirror, Alain Blanc saw the flash of red and silver disappear from sight, and found himself neck-and-neck with the Mercedes beside him. It was a tight dual for third position, and truthfully, to finish in this position was invaluable to anyone. No wonder the Audi and the Mercedes were battling it out hard. It was a wonder how they weren't making contact.

If she could, sitting in 5th, Aurora Nighsworn would have watched all day in anticipation of who would win the dual between her brother and the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM **in front. Nevertheless, she needed to be wary of the **IKEA Honda NSX-GT** which was right behind her.

_You're not going to get the best of me_, she thought.

Defending her position was not easy matter, but eventually Aurora was able to force the Honda behind her to yield when the set of near 180 turns showed up. After keeping a firm grip on her race line, she was able to keep her placement in 5th as well.

What really unsettled Aurora though was how she was going to keep her lines consistent.

* * *

Even two laps later, the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** and the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** were split by a frightening 0.003 seconds, with the two cars side-by-side still. It looked as if their chances for a podium were secure.

The fierce battle between them, in short, allowed them to be a minute clear of the field. Further back, the field had sorted themselves out. In 3rd, Shade Nighsworn in the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé** was relatively clear of Alain Blanc, the latter, who was partly discouraged for losing his pole position, was still under pressure by the other Mercedes, the **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé**, from behind. As well, looking at his rear-view mirror, he could spot the **IKEA Honda NSX-GT** just desperately trying to make ground.

In Carina Hills' eyes, in the Monte Carlo-Blue with Rally Yellow **IKEA Honda NSX-GT**, she could feel terribly exhausted already. Not that she was exhausted from the racing itself, but that her team engineer reported that she was losing ground and time to the Toshiba-sponsored Mercedes, and would fall victim to losing points to the **Microsoft Nissan GT-R** at this rate.

"_Now we're not trying to hassle you, but you've got to keep your lines cleaner_," her engineer advised.

"Alright, alright," Carina mumbled.

She bypassed many more kerbs in an effort to lose more time, and even though she was using a powerful race car, it seemed like it couldn't match the pace of the Nissan ahead. It was a wonder how Carina was able to retain her placement.

"_Attack where necessary_," her engineer said.

"Okay," she replied.

And then it happened.

* * *

Before the longest straight on the track, Percy O'Carroll and Luna Watson were still battling it out after passing the sharpest apex of the Circuit of the Americas. Because Percy's **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** was on the inside of the turn, he had the advantage of covering the shorter distance, leaving Luna to give chase on the straight.

She gained a lot of speed and had the distance to cover it, and when her Nissan GT-R was close enough and fast enough to overtake the Honda, she moved to the side to begin the pass. However, by the time she had been able to overtake, there was only a car's length of space between her and the Honda from behind.

Luna braked first.

And she felt the punishing hit from behind that caused one of her rear Bridgestone tyres to blow, and she could hear it all too well.

"_Puncture, Luna. You've got a puncture!_" Luna didn't need to be reminded of that.

In front of her, she saw she was about to smash into the barrier. Although there was a _ton_ of space between her and the barrier, half of the space was tarmac. There was only a fraction of runoff area with dirt and gravel.

Gripping her racing wheel tight, and with only one option to do upon instinct, Luna slammed on the brakes hard. So hard, that she could hear the crunching of brake discs screaming at her. The heat of the brakes and the friction of the tyres grinding against the ground reached into her head. DTM cars, unlike FIA GT3, were not permitted the use of ABS (anti-lock braking system) aids.

Though Luna had slowed down a lot, she could feel the brakes locking up to the point where they wouldn't function. They were useless now.

But it was fortunate that at this point she had slowed down enough for the gravel to do the rest of the work. Even so, despite slowing, the front of her **Oracle Nissan GT-R** pushed into the barrier and both the headlights and front grille were crushed.

"_Luna! Are you alright?!_" her engineer shouted.

"I'm fine, thanks," she assured.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly removed her hands from the race wheel. She pressed the button that switched off the engine, unfastened her seat belt and harnesses, and slowly stepped out.

"_The stewards and the FIA are investigating this right now,_" the team engineer added. "_The medical car will be deployed to pick you up._"

She still had her helmet on, and soon enough, in the hot Texas sunlight, she saw two race marshals approach her to see if she was fine. Subsequently, they motioned her to follow them away from the race track. Luna, exasperated, turned to look at the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** which also had stopped, albeit about a hundred metres away. There, she saw the marshals attending to the driver as well.

The Honda itself was blanketed in smoke. Smoke was rising from beneath its bonnet, and from the tyres which looked like they had molten into the ground.

* * *

Shade Nighsworn, a minute's distance away, didn't need to be nearby to guess what had happened. He was well on his way trying to hold 3rd place, until his engineer with X-Tech Racing gave a report to him.

"_Yellow. Repeat. Yellow_," he said. "_Seems like there's been an incident with the race leaders, but now you're leading the race, Shade!_"

He had to slow down as he eventually drove by the site where the incident happened. Race marshals were frequently waving yellow flags from the sides to signify exercising caution in the area, and for the racers to slow down. As Shade drove by, he saw the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT** and the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** standing still, and the latter had ended up in the barrier.

Behind him, Shade saw Alain Blanc's Audi reduce its speed as well, and as per yellow flag rules, there was no overtaking. The Audi RS 5 swerved left and right to reduce its speed and stay behind Shade, while Shade had to limit his speed to about 50 km/h (30 mph).

"_The safety car will be deployed when you get to the finishing straight_," the engineer added.

Eventually, at some point, Shade saw the rest of the whole race grid behind him, save for the Honda and the Nissan which were clearly out of the race. They were running as slowly as the formation lap in the first place, except this time there was no safety car in front.

By the time Shade, in the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé**, had crossed the finish line he could see a Ford Mustang GT safety car in front, with its safety car lights flashing. Rather than using his brakes, he used the width of the straight to swerve from left to right to cover more distance and reduce his speed at the same time. Behind him, the Audi and the other Mercedes were tailing him.

"_On the plus side, we're in position for maximum attack_," the engineer said. "_If all goes well, we'll be leading the Team Championship_."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet," Shade replied, and feeling relaxed as all he needed to do was follow the safety car for the time being. "We still have the whole season to go through."

"_Don't think of that yet. That can wait 'til after the race_."

The Mustang travelled relatively slowly, and at the same time a Porsche Cayenne was deployed ahead of the Mustang to travel to the site of the crash. Shade watched the SUV flash its own safety car lights as it travelled at a slightly faster speed the length of the Circuit of the Americas.

Swerving left and right, Shade kept a comfortable pace behind the safety car. He could use a breather for now.

_Looks like I'll have a small fight on my hands_, he thought, thinking of the Audi.

"_The pit window is open_," his engineer said. "_Box now. Box now. While the safety car is present._"

Some time later, when the still operational cars had nearly completed their lap, Shade entered the pit lane. He slowed down to the pit lane's speed limit as he neared his pit box. On each of the four ends stood two people, and they were ready to do the switch the tyres with fresh pre-heated Hankook tyres. In his rear mirror, he saw the rivalling Audi also follow his lead in.

"_We will keep using the prime compound_," the engineer instructed.

Shade pulled over to the mark, and felt the pneumatic jacks burst from underneath to lift the car up. In a matter of seconds, the four tyres had been replaced with new ones, and then the air jack was pulled to bring the Mercedes back to ground. Shade slammed on the throttle, hearing the familiar loud buzz of 1st gear, and took off onto the pit lane again.

"_That was really quick. I think we may have cut off a second from the Audi,_" the engineer said. "_Victory is in sight._"

"That's good," Shade replied. He rejoined the track in what should have been in a bad position – that is, the back of the field – but thanks to the safety car, he had no pressure trying to keep up with the field. He was practically trying to hound down the **Shell Lexus RC F **belonging to Lexus Team NIWA now. There was no doubt he would take a podium finish, provided he kept up this pace. With new prime tyres, the job was even easier.

He passed the site of the incident involving the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** and the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT**. Heavy equipment were hard at work removing the cars and debris from the site still, so the safety car would have to be in effect for the next while.

As well, when Shade passed pit lane entrance again, he saw one of the BMWs and several Nissans enter the pit lane to have their tyre change.

"_Race control says a green flag will have to wait until the cars have been removed,_" the engineer reported. "_At least we'll be cutting off time here._"

"I've got this," Shade assured.

* * *

Two laps later, at the point where most of the debris had been cleared and Luna and Percy were safely away from the site, the Ford Mustang safety car drove into the pit lane as it completed the lap. The flag marshal waved the green flag as the DTM and Super GT machines crossed the finishing straight. The crescendo of engines, backed by turbocharged power, shook the Texas air.

The number 9 **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** instantly shot off as soon as the green flag was waved. Not far behind, the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** with start number 0 tried its best to keep up with the Mercedes, but was under increasing pressure from the **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM**. Not far behind the frontrunners, the rest of the field tried to make up ground on their own.

In the case of BMW Team Canada, they were not doing too well. Walton Durant, the team engineer, had no idea whether it was because the cars weren't well suited to the track or that it was the drivers' fault that they couldn't make up ground.

Maria and Leon had each made their mandatory pit stop, but as far as statistics were concerned, Leon was the only one making ground. Although the race accident meant Maria could make a couple places, it still placed her in 12th which was a non-points position. Leon made up two places alone, but that still meant he would remain in 14th, which was also not satisfactory.

Not to mention that the two Lexus RC Fs from US-based Runway Racing, in the **Costco Lexus RC F** and the **Tesco Lexus RC F**, were occupying both 9th and 10th positions. Although the race had restarted with a fresh green flag, Walton Durant brought in some unsettling news for Maria.

"_The top ten have lost you by at least half a second. You have got to improve those lines, Maria_," Durant instructed.

Things were looking bleak for the BMWs.

* * *

**It's a pleasure to finally write about the next race. Race results will be in the next chapter!**


	11. 40 Ounces of Meat

**I tried to be quick, but I haven't been keeping good pace. I have one more month before I'm back to work and school, but trust me these days have been stressful. Aside from working on Culinary Rivals, I have been working on an in-school application which has been taking my time. Here's the next chapter! It's been three months since I've updated!**

**Again, and again, I apologise to my reviewers LunaTFKWatson, DeathXTheXKidd, and for the long update.**

* * *

_**Chapter eleven: 40 Ounces of Meat**_

**Circuit of the Americas, United States**

"YES! YES!" Shade shouted when the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** shot past the finish line as the chequered flag came down.

Behind, Aurora had fought well, but was unable to match the pace of Alain Blanc. Nevertheless, she could settle for 3rd, as this was only her second race in the C1TM. There would be plenty to celebrate about when everyone gathered.

"_That's awesome. Well done,_" the team engineer said. "_Well done, Aurora. Guess we will see both of you on the podium!_"

It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders. It was only the second race, and Shade still couldn't believe it. He took a deep breath, trying to relax. Yet, it was very difficult. As this was the pinnacle of touring car racing, he was finding it hard to digest.

He knew the track was a long one, and that driving at this pace would take him about seven minutes before he completed the lap. Still, he was in no hurry. He had won a race in the FIA C1TM!

The **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** pulled up alongside him as he continued his lap. When he looked to his side, he could see the familiar helmet design that only his sister Aurora wore. Their eyes met, and Aurora raised a moving fist in celebration of victory.

Shade knew that between them, they were all smiles.

* * *

The broadcasters were pretty excited too, as they had the statistics down.

"So now the points standings have been released, and given this is practically a world championship, the FIA took the measure of hastily renaming the Drivers and Teams Championships respectively. However, the name 'C1TM' will probably stick around for a while," the lead broadcaster reported.

They watched the monitors following the two Mercedes doing a victory lap, with the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** not far behind.

"The FIA, therefore, has taken the liberty of giving the title 'world champion' to the victor of the C1TM. After all, with such a high standard of touring car racing taking part around the world, why not call this a world championship? This is the first double podium the Class One Touring Masters has ever seen, so we'll be glad to see the two drivers from X-Tech Racing on the podium. But Alain Blanc, as this is second podium finish in a row, continues to lead the championship."

**Class One North America R2, Circuit of the Americas:**

**P1. S. Nighsworn – Mercedes-Benz, X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG**

**P2. A. Blanc – Audi, Audi Sport Team WRT**

**P3. A. Nighsworn – Mercedes-Benz, X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG**

**P4. C. Hills – Honda, Honda Team Constellar**

**P5. O. Davis – Nissan, Accelerated Racing by NISMO**

**P6. M. Schulz – Audi, Audi Sport Team WRT**

**P7. J. Kyoto – Nissan, Virgin Racing USA**

**P8. H. Matsubara – Nissan, Rising Sun Motorsports**

**P9. T. Moss – Lexus, Runway Racing**

**P10. L. Morrison – Lexus, Runway Racing**

* * *

**Class One World Drivers' Championship**

A. Blanc – 35

S. Nighsworn – 28

H. Matsubara – 18

O. Davis – 17

A. Nighsworn – 11

C. Hills – 9

M. Schulz – 7

L. Pinetree – 6

L. Watson – 5

J. Kyoto – 4

P. O'Carroll – 4

M. Lougheed – 3

T. Moss – 2

L. Morrison – 1

**Class One World Team Championship**

Audi Sport Team WRT – 42

X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG – 39

Accelerated Racing by NISMO – 22

Rising Sun Motorsports – 18

Honda Team Constellar – 13

BMW Team Canada – 9

Virgin Racing USA – 4

Runway Racing – 3

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the Italian national anthem was being played for everyone to hear. Shade Nighsworn stood on the top step with Audi driver Alain Blanc on his right, and Aurora on his left. Truth be told, Shade was all smiles.

When Shade was younger, the only times he would see and hear this circumstance of the podium and the Italian national anthem being played was during Formula One Grands Prix. Most of those times, when he and Aurora would follow their father to Lotus F1 tests, they would occasionally get to watch whatever Grands Prix their father went to. Of those times, it was usually Scuderia Ferrari that took the top step of the podium, with the Italian anthem played to accompany it.

Now, as the anthem drew to a triumphant close, the cheering of the American fans could be heard from below. Near the _parc fermé_, the podium-finishing teams also gave their cheers. The trophies were awarded to the drivers themselves, beginning with Aurora who looked extremely happy to receive hers, and ending with Shade who let out a roar of triumph.

And, afterwards, there were bottles of champagne to be sprayed between them and Alain Blanc in celebration. The Nighsworn siblings sprayed Alain Blanc first, who laughed, and finally each other. Between Shade and Aurora, they haven't had this much fun for years.

"You really had it, Shade. You've earned it!" she said.

Shade scoffed.

"Thanks, sis."

Before Shade could say anything more, he felt more champagne poured over his head be Alain Blanc. The liquid trickled down the back of his next, and after that the three of them laughed together.

* * *

Luna Watson was seemingly furious as she sat in the team garage. The mechanics had been working for the past hour trying to salvage what they could of the Nissan GT-R that had been badly damaged in the race. From the looks of it, they were going to have to get some serious repairs and replacements done.

"The stewards have finished their review and they have decided to award the driver a grid penalty for the next race," the team principal said. "In spite of this incident which is disappointing –"

"It wasn't my fault," Luna interrupted.

"I know," the team principal said, curtly. "But be careful next time. On the bright side, we are very fortunate to have Oliver who finished in the points today. At least we could salvage something out of this race. We'll need to complete whatever repairs we can before we send off the GT-R to the _parc fermé._ For now, Luna, maybe you should get some rest. You'll be needed at the press conference later."

Whatever anger and frustration Luna had lingered around for a while. She accepted the fact her principal had a point, but she still struggled with the knowledge that victory, if not a podium, was in her grasp. Points, a whole lot of them, were lost. Call it a racing incident, Luna thought, but she really didn't think so.

On the other hand, she was equally glad for her teammate Oliver that he came home in 5th. At least there were some points the team could salvage from the race.

So while the workers at Accelerated Racing prepared the cars, Luna made her way out of debriefing. The cars would have to wait until they were transported to Montréal for the next race after the post-race inspection. Knowing the little downtime she had, Luna considered heading out to the gym to train. However, she knew that because of this incident, the media would be more interested in interviewing her about the details.

As a racing driver for Nissan, a professional one, for that matter, she had to face the reality that there would be the media to confront. So after she had swapped into Accelerated Racing clothes, she was immediately confronted by several journalists as well but didn't answer any of their questions. Instead, she repeatedly referred them to the upcoming press conference.

* * *

At the press conference itself where many reporters had gathered, Shade Nighsworn sat centre, with Alain Blanc and Aurora sitting beside him.

"How are you feeling, Shade?" the C1TM reporter asked.

"I'm feeling great." The smile on his face was all too apparent. "A victory in the C1TM is a surprise for me, sure, and the nostalgia is still there. I don't think it'll be going away for a while."

The C1TM reporter wasn't done. "Does this give you confidence you'll do just as well when the championship goes to Montréal?"

"For sure. I expect it will not just be me but the entire team who will be ready," Shade replied.

The reporter thanked Shade, with the latter giving a nod in return, as that reporter moved on to look at Aurora.

"Aurora, you are the first female driver to ever score a podium in the C1TM. Tell us what does this mean to you?"

"It's the best feeling in the world," Aurora giggled. "Sure, maybe I have yet to get a win, but it's a surprise just to make it onto the podium itself. The icing on the cake is that my brother here –" She looked at Shade for a moment "– took the win. It'll be good for my morale, and the team's, when we take it to Montréal."

After asking a couple more questions, the C1TM opened questions from the floor.

A journalist added, "From what we can tell, the guys at X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG are going strong. Had any of you expected a win – if not for the incident with the Oracle Nissan and the Pepsi Honda?"

"You could say it was a stroke of luck," Aurora replied. "Nah, we never expected this either. Overall, this is to show that X-Tech Racing will be in good form for next race, to repeat what I've said."

Shade and Aurora looked around, and then Shade gave the nod to another reporter.

"Do you suppose that you've found a good rhythm with the car now? I mean, you seem to have had a good run back in the first race at Monterey."

"Well, we don't know yet, do we?" Shade laughed. "No, it's a very long season and there's no telling what will happen in the future. For now, we will keep pressing the fight and hope everything turns out smoothly."

* * *

Percy O'Carroll managed to make his way to the door of BMW Team Canada's garage. True, he wasn't even allowed there, but why not bother? He had finished with his team debriefing alongside with Carina, but as well he tried his best to avoid that Luna Watson for the time being. There was no telling what consequences he would expect if he did run into her.

When he walked out of the Team Constellar garage, he did have to face the number of reporters who were eager to ask him about the racing incident with him and Luna. He didn't say too much, other than giving his version of how things happened. He even faced a question which involved a quote by Luna, of course, accusing Percy of being too aggressive. Percy replied that Luna should just give it up since he had been awarded a grid penalty for the next race, anyway. After that, he allowed the security guards to escort him away from the crowd.

Subsequently, he was waiting beside the door of BMW Team Canada's garage at his discretion. The door did fly open with a number of team members stepping out – including the principal, engineers, and the BMW Motorsport assistant director. Fortunately, they completely missed him, and Percy was 'free' to walk in.

Indeed, he found Maria Lougheed and Leon Pinetree – still in their Puma BMW racing suits – talking over statistics of the day's race. Nevertheless, they stopped short upon seeing that Percy had walked into the room.

"So, my dear, how about that date?" he said.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Maria shouted, first pointing at him accusingly and then to the door. But Percy didn't leave, and instead walked even closer. However, he was instantly stopped by Leon.

"You'll have to go, quietly. We don't want to escalate things here," Leon said. However, he was pushed aside by Percy.

"Now, now, there's no need to escalate things indeed," Percy replied. "She does need some company, I bet, but you'll find that there's plenty of ways. A date would be one way of putting it. Come on, you know you want to, my friend!" He waved at Maria.

Leon blinked, as if he had no idea what Percy was saying. In the end, he said, "That's not really an excuse, and please, we need some time to rest ourselves. Got it? We're all tired. As the lady said, you're not allowed here, so please leave."

Percy rolled his eyes, but he walked out of the room anyway. He did have to report back to his team, but after that there was a bit of downtime. Unfortunately for his teammates at Team Constellar, the damage done to his Honda NSX-GT meant they would have to spend something like 100 hours to repair it. That was unfortunate.

* * *

As Percy went back to his team, he considered going out to the nearby city of Austin for something to eat. If he was honest, the race had taken its toll on his body and his appetite, so quietly he asked for a quick leave from his principal and met up with his girlfriend outside the garage.

"Where have you been, again?" she asked him.

"Not really your business, right?" he replied. "I'm off for dinner, but you can come if you want."

Carina Hills had finished swapping into her casual clothes and walked out of the change rooms near the team garage. As it happened, Percy and his girlfriend walked out the back door to embark on one of the sponsored cars – an Acura MDX, no less. After consulting with an engineer, Percy drove the car in the direction of the boulevard, which eventually led out of the Circuit of the Americas and straight into the city of Austin.

"Hey, Beverly! There's a few fans who outside who'd like some autographs –"

Carina glared at whoever said that – specifically a mechanic. "Don't mention that name, or you'll be in for it for sure. Where is Percy?"

"He went out for dinner, I guess. It's that time," the mechanic replied. "Anything you need for the time being?"

Carina walked over to observe the Honda NSX-GTs, both of them, return to the garage from the _parc fermé_. Percy's car was clearly the one in worse shape with a damaged exterior, but overall, the cars were still in one piece. It would still take a while to repair them though.

"I'll be heading for dinner too, I guess," Carina said, as she signed off for the night, "after some autographs, of course."

She walked out the door with an engineer and a security guard to escort her to meet the fans. Carina was pleasantly surprised with the number of cameras and notebooks presented to her by specifically Honda fans. Just how many fans were here? She couldn't count them all, but complied with taking pictures with everyone, and signing plenty of books and pages.

* * *

**Austin, United States**

In some unsuspecting Texas steakhouse, Maria Lougheed and Leon Pinetree received some surprise that they heard Michael (the BMW Motorsport assistant director, as a reminder) would be treating them to dinner. They got off at the front doors of the restaurant, in an unsuspecting BMW saloon car. With the media certainly not on their tails, a bit of privacy was in order.

So it came down to the two cousins sitting together instead. Michael was off at another table with some associates, including Dr. Hilbert and other BMW Team Canada employees. The way Maria saw it: Michael had the entire steakhouse booked for the team when Durant walked into the restaurant with the other engineers. At least the cousins had a table to themselves.

"Michael insisted he order for us," Leon mentioned. "Plus, he'll cover the bill for our drinks too."

"Oh, he didn't have to," Maria said back. "We could have looked at the menu… but I'm always in for surprises."

Maria ordered an Arnold Palmer to start, whereas Leon had a neat mix of pineapple and cranberry juice. Shortly after the drinks were delivered and Maria and Leon were chatting away, dinner arrived. It looked as if the dish was intended for Leon. Unfortunately… Unfortunately…!

"Wha – What is this?!" Maria exclaimed. "This dish is a monster! Are you sure this is _my_ dish?"

It was a steak, no doubt, but to Maria it was unbelievably big for its size. A steak, cooked medium, with a side of fries. A _lot_ of fries. This was three times bigger than what Maria had seen what the Keg would advertise! (The Keg is the Canadian steakhouse chain based in Richmond, British Columbia, where Auto West BMW is located; where the cousins first met Michael and Hilbert. Remember?).

"Girl, this dish is the _women's_ portion," the waiter emphasised. "Well, I can see you're quite the small type, but that's no excuse to not eat. You haven't seen the men's portion yet!"

Completely intimidated by the sheer size of the meat, Maria didn't dare touch it. It looked impossible to chew!

A few minutes later, Leon's dish arrived. Just when Maria thought her dish looked terrifying, Leon's was even worse. The steak on Leon's dish was at least half the size more than what was on Maria's plate, and served with a side of fries and carrots. While it looked quite appetising, Maria couldn't digest the size of it. Her stomach sunk, and she lost a bit of her appetite, if not half of it.

"The _woman's_ portion?!" Maria complained. "Wait a minute. Just how much meat is in this steak?"

"Forty ounces. That's the smallest we can give for the typical adult."

That number shot into Maria's head like a bullet.

"Forty ounces? FORTY OUNCES?!" Maria cried.

"Hey, but on the plus side, your friend here gets sixty ounces _and_ this meal is courtesy of your other friend at that table," the server gestured in the direction of Michael's table, where he too had a glass of pineapple and cranberry juice. "Consider yourselves spoiled!"

He left the table to the cousins, but Maria just didn't know where to start. Instead, she stuck with sipping her drink – the tasty blend of iced tea and lemonade. Leon chuckled as he cut a slice of the massive sixty ounce steak in front of him.

"Yeah, good luck with trying to finish that," he said.

"I don't think I'll be finishing this at all…" Maria whined.

* * *

Elsewhere in another unsuspecting steakhouse, the Nighsworn siblings in fact had ordered a single dish of the so-called 'women's portion' of meat. Even forty ounces was too much to handle between the two of them, but it would have to do. Twenty ounces for each of them was big already, given they divided a forty ounce steak, and the share of fries wasn't small either. This was certainly not what the Italians were used to eating back in Florence.

At least some conversation made up for it.

"Well, a podium for me and a win for you," Aurora said. "You know, I'm surprised the entire team isn't celebrating with us!"

"They do have their hands full with preparing the cars," Shade agreed. "If only they could eat with us, as there's no way I'll be able to finish this."

"You're telling me!" Aurora said. She cut another slice of meat and forced her fork into it. She ate it, though it seemed like a torture to do so. True, both she and her brother were in need to replenish their protein, but the size of the meal was pushing it.

* * *

**I'll try to make the next update faster!**


	12. Momentum on Home Ground

**Due to the increasing demand of this story, thanks to LunaTFKWatson, DeathXTheXKidd, and Amateur Experimentalist, I wrote this chapter almost immediately. One week later, we have another chapter! Suppose this is enough to make up for lost time!**

* * *

_**Chapter twelve: Momentum on Home Ground**_

**Montréal, Canada: one week later**

At Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport, in the French-Canadian province of Québec, the United Airlines flight provided by the FIA C1TM made its landing. In Luna's case, it felt like a sigh of relief. The moment she walked onto the boarding gate and into the airport, she felt the drastic difference in climate compared to the other places she had been to so far. Both the Laguna Seca and Austin were located in basically hot climates, whereas Montréal was further north. For Luna, it felt like she was back in London again, with equal if not similar cool temperatures.

She didn't sleep well, nor did she sleep well for the past few days. In addition to the anger she felt after the racing incident in Austin, Luna felt bad for the mechanics and engineers at Accelerated Racing. The damage done to her GT500 Nissan GT-R meant they had to spend no less than sixty hours repairing the front body. It wasn't that complex, but it meant replacing all the parts. The front wing, the splitter, and headlights included. As well, replacing all the brakes would incur extra time, and they all had to be done in Austin.

Fortunately, there were two weeks before the next round of Class One North America after Austin, which allowed sufficient time for the team to repair the car. The GT-R would be ready by the coming Thursday.

The arrangement was that the team would have the cars transported to Montréal in a matter of days, after repairs were done. For now, Luna would have to check in at her assigned hotel, and then she would be free for the time being. A team meeting was scheduled the following day, with debrief and such.

She picked up her bag and took out her British passport to prepare for immigration. Baggage would have to wait until she had gotten past the border officials.

After Luna had a visa stamped on one of her passport pages, she proceeded to meet up with her teammate Oliver, who had gathered at the baggage claim. After speaking briefly with her teammate, Luna went over to look for her baggage. It didn't take long before she spotted her familiar bag on the dispenser.

By the time she picked her bag up, the others were still looking for their bags. So she had a moment to talk a little more with Oliver.

"So that was a 100 hour job for our team," she said. "They're still in Austin, right? When will they come?"

"They probably won't be here until tomorrow. It's worth mentioning that it will be a 24 hour trip for them to transport the cars to the circuit here," Oliver replied. "I'm not surprised, though, since Austin is pretty much across the continent. Plus, pretty much half the team has to stay behind, so it might take a little longer."

They kept walking.

"Some of our engineers came to Montréal already, and they're – ah – over there."

Oliver went to pick up his baggage too and afterwards the teammates were on their way. Their principal hadn't boarded the flight with them, as he had to oversee the rebuilding and transporting of the cars. For now, Luna and Oliver had some downtime.

That went without saying they had to rendezvous with the rest of their team first, who were waiting for them.

* * *

Neither Maria nor Leon had an appetite, but they were fine with that. Maria was still in tears after the monster of a steak she had a week ago, and Leon also had reason for complaint. As a result, they skipped breakfast and lunch and went through immigration pretty quickly. Canadian passports in Canada obviously required no visas, so all they had to do was do the immigration themselves via self-serve kiosks.

After handing over their declaration card to the border officials, Maria and Leon met up with Michael, and they then walked forward together.

"We'll meet at the greeting area," Michael instructed. "Dr. Hilbert and half of the team are still in Austin to repair and prepare transporting the cars, whereas the other half is here in Montréal as well. At this point, they'll probably be at the circuit already."

"What would they be doing?" Maria asked.

"Oh, you could say they're making preparations for our team as well," Michael replied. "Dr. Hilbert probably is giving instructions to them as we speak. The cars will be here in three days, I think."

"Feels good to be home in Canada, though," Leon replied, "even if we are on the other side of the country."

"Aw, Leon…" Maria added playfully, pinching her cousin's cheek, "are you homesick already? We've only gone through two races and still have a whole season to go through!"

Leon puffed his cheeks in response. "I'm not homesick! It's just that it's been… five months since we left Vancouver!" He had to brush her hand off quickly, as if she was an irritant.

"That's being homesick." Maria grinned, as if trying to be smart.

"That's not the same as coming back to Canada, though!" Leon shot back.

Michael smiled as they went out to the greeting area and locate the FIA officials who were there to collect them. Hotels would be waiting for them and Michael promised there would be downtime after checking in. However, he couldn't promise the media wouldn't bother them.

"Well, you'll be happy at who called in to me this morning," he said. "They had to go through a confusing number of calls, but they reach me at last."

The cousins wore confused expressions. Who was Michael talking about, exactly? However, while they were walking through, the cousins were surprised at what, or who, they saw. Familiar faces looking at them near the crowd with smiles. The only thing they could do was smile back.

"Mommy!" Maria and Leon cried.

Indeed, their respective parents were among the closest to the doors of the greeting area. Delighted, Maria rushed around the barrier to give her parents a tight hug, whilst dropping her bags. Leon, too, went to embrace his parents.

"Wow! Since when did you come to Montréal?" Leon said.

"Right after that race in Austin," his dad answered. "We were cheering you on!"

"Yeah," Leon's mom added. "When we heard Montréal was going to be the only Canadian round of the championship, we just had to stop by!"

* * *

Aurora and Shade Nighsworn had not eaten _anything_ for breakfast giving the massive dinner they had a week ago. Twenty ounces of meat for each of them had taken its toll on their stomachs, and the subsequent meals that followed in Austin consisted of nothing more than salads.

They skipped breakfast but did eat on the airplane, and after immigration they still opted not to eat anything. It wasn't before long before they met up with their team, who in turn were directed by FIA officials to taxis.

As a show of team spirit, Aurora was wearing a white Toshiba cap, and Shade wore a black Monster Energy cap, with the trademark green 'M' emblazoned in front. They rode on the same taxi, and at the same time escorted by security guards.

While on the highway, Aurora and Shade looked at their new surroundings. Sure, the climate here was much cooler than that of where they had been to so far, and reminded them more of Florence. As such, it was more welcoming for them here too.

"Still feeling that podium nostalgia?" she asked her brother. There were camera crews and media trying to get a close-up on them as they left the airport, but officials were there to help clear a way for the Italians.

"You bet, but I could only hope for another win," he replied. "You know, I bet I'll make another podium here. I can see it."

Aurora laughed. "I bet I'll take the win! We'll just have to employ the usual strategy and we'll be set."

Their taxi pulled in front of the relatively close Crowne Plaza hotel. If there was one place racing stars could stay in, it would be here. While Shade and Aurora were impressed, they also knew what to expect from Crowne Plaza as well.

"Well, I can't believe we're staying here again," Aurora remarked.

"But that was a few years ago," Shade replied. "Plus, this is Montréal! Things might be different!"

What Shade and Aurora were referring to was the Crowne Plaza hotel in Milan, near the Italian motor racing circuit in Monza. At the times when they followed their father to watch him run development tests with new Lotus Formula One machines, they naturally stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Milan. They did like to play around in the hotel room more than watching the Formula One tests, at the time.

Hard to believe that the C1TM would eventually head to Monza too, but that was a different story.

After checking into the hotel and dropping off their bags in their room, Shade and Aurora went out to meet the FIA official in the lobby.

"Either your team will have arranged transport to get to the circuit or the FIA will have provided some for you, but chances are that it's the former," the official. "Check it over with your team whenever you can."

* * *

Percy O'Carroll had been busy with his time after he had finished with immigration and checking into his hotel. For a start, his team had him and Carina meet up at the circuit so as they could learn the track a little before the principal could let them loose.

That being said, their Hondas had only just arrived in Montréal on the same day. Given the time it took to repair Percy's car there was some delay, but the cars were due to arrive the following morning.

Yet, on the taxi ride there courtesy of Honda Canada Inc., Carina could tell her teammate was discouraged for some reason. He was reading messages off his phone, and after a moment silently hid his phone in his pocket.

"Something the matter, buddy?" Carina asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just a little breakup is all."

Carina's black waist-length hair became quite messy while she was sitting, but she was fine with that. Dressed in a tank top as opposed to Percy's bright orange-and-red crewneck shirt, Carina looked outside the window to see the city landscape. The Acura MDX that was shuttling them passed by a scenic canal to the heart of Montréal – otherwise called the _centre-ville_. However, before they could get close to the _centre-ville_, the car veered off in the direction of…

"The Saint Lawrence River, is that what it's called?" Carina asked.

But Percy was unresponsive at first, but quickly reacted with a turn of his head. "Hmm? Oh, that? Yeah, that's the Saint Lawrence. It runs all the way from the Atlantic Ocean. Plus, the racing circuit where we'll be racing on is actually built on an island on the river."

"Wouldn't have thought you knew so much, buddy!" Carina commented, adding a bump to Percy's arm. "So you were paying attention!"

"Of course I was," Percy shot back, a bit annoyed, and continued to look at his phone once in a while. Carina, on the other hand, looked outside to see the Victoria and Concordia bridges come into sight. It was a sunny day, so it made the landscape look no less illustrious.

Eventually, the car began its trip on the Concordia Bridge (otherwise known as Pont de la Concorde). The two Honda drivers looked outside to see the island of Île Notre Dame where, evidently, most of the racing circuit was visible. The island stretched from one direction to the other, with plenty of track in sight.

"That looks fun…" Carina said. "It's a pretty track."

"You can owe that to the river, I bet," Percy added quietly.

Soon enough, the Acura was past the security gate and stopped near the garages of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. FIA officials and circuit marshals were already walking around the track making preparations for the upcoming race, but that wasn't Percy or Carina's business. Instead, they followed their way in to meet their team.

"It would help to learn the track too, I bet," Percy said.

"Did you break up with your girlfriend, buddy?" Carina suddenly said.

"That's none of your business, _Beverly_," Percy shot back.

That did it. Carina nearly slapped Percy in the face but he pulled back a little, and in time for their engineers to pull them into the building to begin briefing. However, Carina had to be restrained, since she was in a mood.

Once they were in the garage, they beheld the welcome sight of the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT**, all completely repaired and ready to race, and its sister car the **IKEA Honda NSX-GT**. Both cars were in good condition and fresh from repairs and cleaning.

"Next time, don't crash the car," Carina joked.

Percy rolled his eyes.

* * *

There was a Tim Hortons coffee shop beside the hotel where Maria Lougheed and Leon Pinetree were staying at – that is, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Given just how long it had been since they last saw their parents, Maria and Leon looked pretty homesick.

So it came down to Maria's uncle (that is, Leon's dad) who bought coffee for everyone.

"We've been watching your races from beginning to end," he remarked to Leon as he set down the tray of coffees. "Your mom insisted she take the weekends off so she could watch the races start to finish."

"Come on, now, _you've_ been watching the free practice and qualifying sessions too, never mind the races!" she complained.

To make himself look more casual, Leon wore a pair of jeans and, incidentally, a Hudson's Bay shirt. It went without saying that this shirt was his own and not supplied by the sponsor.

Meanwhile, Maria sipped her coffee quietly. She forgot to ask her uncle for milk instead of cream in her coffee, but she supposed she could live with it for now. As for a clothing choice for the journey she wore a black-and-silver dress.

"Well, we were disappointed with how the race turned out," her mom admitted. "You were in 8th place for a long time and then you suddenly dropped down back to 14th again."

"Yeah, you can owe it to that mistake I made at the final corner," Maria admitted. "Even the accident with the leaders – you saw it right? – meant I finished 12th."

Her dad was sympathetic. "Hey, you're in back in the country, and the four of us bought tickets just to see the two of you race. Come on, I know you'll do us proud!"

And then Maria's mom chipped in. "Some would even say you two have a home advantage! Come on, you'll get that podium! We've got your back! To think it was only five months ago when that director gave you your contract, and look where you're at now!"

Maria grinned. "I can't promise that podium, but I'll make it worthwhile that you and dad came here!" she said. "Hey, when the race is over, I can take you to check out the garage! Maybe then you'll get your tickets' worth for coming here! Then we can check out the _centre-ville_!"

Her parents looked at each other briefly, with smiles.

"That sounds like a great idea," Maria's dad said. "But first, you have a race to finish."

Maria thought back to Michael's words. The entire team wasn't due to gather until the cars had arrived from Austin, but it wouldn't be long before she and Leon would be in the seats of their racing machines.

* * *

**Sneak preview of the next chapter: Round 3 of the FIA Class One Touring Masters/Race 3 of Class One North America!**


	13. The Wall of Champions

**I must admit that I haven't been really motivated to write this story despite having a broad idea of how this story unfolds. The reason is because I've been focusing on 'Culinary Rivals' which has basically become the flagship of my Fanfiction writing - and it's still ongoing. I can't believe it's been over three months since I've updated!**

**Still, in light of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend (and the title-decider between Hamilton and Rosberg), I'm finally updating!**

* * *

_**Chapter thirteen: The Wall of Champions**_

**Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Canada: many days later**

The only race of Class One North America that wasn't hosted in the United States was finally underway. After qualifying from the previous day, things were going well for the X-Tech Racing Mercedes-AMG team. A second row lockout meant Aurora and Shade started the race in third and fourth positions, respectively.

That also meant they could employ their strategy to draft, slipstream, and fight for the overall win. Pole position was secured for the third time by Alain Blanc in the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM**, and second position was taken by Virgin Racing USA's **Red Bull Nissan GT-R**, driven by the Mexican Michelle Martinez.

At the beginning of the race, Shade and Aurora were instructed to keep a steady pace in the opening lap. This was not only because they needed to find their pace and warm up the tyres to increase grip, but also because of what might happen in the last chicane with so many cars fighting on the first lap. It was better to have things sorted out first.

Shade knew enough about the Canadian track to understand what the strategy meant during briefing. The infamous Wall of Champions was dangerous enough already and at it would only be worse if a high volume of cars came into the final chicane at once. Only so many would suffer the consequences.

In Formula One, the wall was known for the times a driver had crashed here. Such examples involved Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, and Sebastian Vettel. But despite how much slower the Class One cars were in comparison to Formula One, it was still a dangerous section of track, as the Class One cars were capable of high cornering speeds.

Indeed, in the opening lap, the engineers' predictions were spot on. While their Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTMs closely followed Alain Blanc's Audi into the final sector, the Nighsworn siblings were almost tempted to overtake the Audi but they were strongly advised not to do so immediately. Shade objected but he complied with the order anyway, and soon enough the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** exited the chicane…

…and ended up grinding against the infamous Wall of Champions. This not only caused damage to his car's front wing, but caused him to lose a bit of control too. As a result, Shade and Aurora – who followed the advice of their engineer – slipped into respectively 3rd and 2nd positions. The **Red Bull Nissan GT-R** had taken the lead.

"_Well done. At this rate, we'll be on course for another podium finish_," the engineer said. "_Push, push, push_."

Even worse for the Audi, the collision also meant a drop out of the top five. The **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM** and the **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM** flew right by it as well, and by then Alain Blanc's Audi was under pressure from the other Virgin Racing USA Nissan and the Accelerated Racing **Microsoft Nissan GT-R**.

Far ahead, things were going the Nighsworns' way. With constant slipstreaming and overtaking, they were able to pass the **Red Bull Nissan GT-R** and kept on pressing on.

The field, after the incident on the opening lap with the Audi, had finally sorted itself after two laps. The Mercedes duo looked unstoppable as they continued to build on their aggressive lead. It seemed like they were more motivated to build on the podium finish they had in Austin.

Now halfway through the race, the battles were tight. The pit window was open at this time and by then the Mercedes duo had built a commanding lead – almost 12 seconds ahead of the pace. With such an advantage, the engineers took the opportunity to radio Shade in – who was running behind his sister.

"_Box now. Box now_," the engineer said. "_If we time it right, Aurora will be able to leave the pit lane ahead of you and in time for her to make up a lot of ground._"

"Okay," Shade replied.

* * *

Due to the penalty he received from the previous race – unjustified in his opinion – Percy's Honda had his qualifying position demoted to 14th place. At the same time, his teammate Carina had qualified in a sufficient 11th place. While in position to attack for points, the UK-based team realised they were going to have to increase their performance if they were going to challenge for the championship.

Angered, Percy made his push from this far back in the grid on the second lap. The **Petronas Lexus RC F** and ahead made an error at the circuit's hairpin by going in too quickly. Percy, taking advantage of this, attacked from the inside and slipped one place ahead.

By the halfway point of the race, Percy had made up seven places and shot into 7th place. He passed the **IKEA Honda NSX-GT** on the way but on almost every lap he nearly, nearly, hit the Wall of Champions. Many times he exited the chicane and onto the runoff kerb, but he only barely touched the wall.

However, on this lap it was this tactic that allowed Percy to carry enough speed to overtake another car. With dangerous speed, Percy maneuvered his Honda to catch up to the Pearl Red **Oracle Nissan GT-R** and overtook it on the straight before crossing the start line to take 6th.

"_Box, box, box_," his engineer instructed.

"Okay, okay. Got it," Percy said, satisfied he had managed to pass that Luna Watson. At this rate, he might be able to get a podium finish!

Midway through the second sector, Percy continued bringing his engine to astonishingly high revs and, lo and behold, saw the rear of the **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM**, with the unmistakable stripes of the clothing company in sight.

_I have you now!_ Percy thought.

Carina, on the other hand, had managed to make up one place to recover her starting position of 11th, as Percy had overtaken her earlier.

* * *

Driving past barriers and trees made Leon Pinetree think this was less of a city racetrack and more like a private park. Indeed, while Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was located on an island in itself, Leon was surprised he was even in Montréal to begin with.

"_Maria will be pitting ahead of you, so box on the next lap_," Durant instructed.

"She's holding out well," Leon admitted, as he drove the car through the second sector. There were one or two chicanes in the sector that surprisingly had a lot of open area as opposed to the relative straightaway the sector provided.

Leon took notice of the grandstands where thousands of C1TM fans sat and watched the touring cars pass by. He followed Maria's BMW which was a decent pace ahead of him, and while Leon continued to follow his cousin to the hairpin, he took caution of the Honda in his mirrors. Wow, wasn't this the car that had an accident in Austin? It sure looked like it.

He breathed steadily as he continued to add more power to the engine and feeling the heat of over 500 horsepower fill up the cockpit. It made him feel more and more dehydrated every second, so Leon used the drinking system to hydrate whenever he needed.

He looked through his helmet and tried to keep up with Maria while passing the hairpin, at which the Honda behind him made a bid to attack. Fortunately for Leon, the attack failed, as he was able to enter the corner through the inside. He felt the kerbs rumble against the right side of his car and afterwards exited at full throttle.

It was a fierce dual between the BMW and the Honda as the cars zipped through the longest stretch of track on the circuit. The cars were neck-and-neck with the BMW on the left side and the Honda on the right.

It seemed like the Honda had the upper hand, though, because it was also building off of the slipstream of the **BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM**. At the final chicane, before the Honda attempted to attack Maria's BMW, Leon saw it follow Maria into the pit entry and slowing down to about 50 km/h. Shrugging and free of pressure, Leon carefully slowed down to enter the final chicane and exited quickly to regain some speed – and at the same time avoiding contact with the insidious Wall of Champions as he began chase to the **Red Bull Nissan GT-R**.

The pit crew of BMW Team Canada had already unwrapped prime tyres from the tyre warmers and the crew of thirteen pit stop members prepared for work. They had seen one of the leading Mercedes cars, the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** to be specific, pass by their pit box and saw the X-Tech Racing crew get to work, with the sound of wheel guns drilling and air jacks firing. Many seconds later, Dr. Dan Hilbert informed them of Maria's upcoming approach.

They saw the Crystal White BMW M4 DTM approach the lane and swipe into the pit box. Immediately an air pump was injected to its side to power the pneumatic air jacks, with four wheel guns drilled into the wheels to unscrew them. The wheel gun handlers then passed off the used tyres to a member beside them and let a third member put in the hot prime tyre almost immediately after, in which the wheel guns were drilled to screw the tyre on and the air pump removed to release the jacks and send the car off.

It hadn't taken long, but the time Maria had taken to drive through the pit lane was costly enough already. As soon as the jacks went down she revved the engine in an effort to accelerate as much as possible whilst keeping to the speed limit.

If all went well, she could challenge for her first podium on home ground, when her parents would be watching her.

The prime tyres weren't really as fast as the option tyres, Maria admitted, but she had no choice. Leon would probably be making up more ground and arrive half a lap later or something like that.

* * *

Luna Watson had just completed her tyre change and began powering onto the track to rejoin the field in 10th place, which was unfortunate as she had been doing well in 7th in the earlier stage until a technical problem at the Wall of Champions caused her to grind her Nissan GT-R against the wall. Fortunately the car could still move, but it had cost her a lot of time, in which her sister car the **Microsoft Nissan GT-R** had made up ground on her.

It didn't seem like she was in position to get a podium here in Canada after all. The Mercedes duo was dominating the race, as it happened. After her tyre change, her sister car had overtaken her.

_Just keep pushing for points_, she thought.

She managed to rejoin the field and as she looked in the mirrors for an opening, she saw the **Belgian Audi Club RS 5 DTM** pass by her. Luna was surprised. Had the Audi fallen behind this badly?!

Meanwhile, the two cars ahead of her had just completed the first sector, with Luna's **Oracle Nissan GT-R** not far behind. She passed by another chicane and the grandstands on the way, and continued to try to make ground throughout the second sector.

By the time she completed the hairpin, the Nissan was well following in the Audi's tracks. However, from the data given by her engineer, she was neither gaining nor losing ground on the Audi. It seemed quite constant.

On the longest straight, the Class-One touring cars led by the **Toshiba Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** and the **Monster Energy Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé DTM** began to make the most of accelerating to top speed. Four pistons within each engine powered the cars to dynamic proportions and still kept going. Not far behind, as the Mercedes powered their way to the final chicane, the **Red Bull Nissan GT-R** and the EfficientDynamics BMW entered the chicane as well, followed by the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT**.

However, when Luna went to enter the chicane herself, she saw through her side windows the race marshals waving yellow flags around. Had there been in accident? Yes there was. The **Need for Speed Audi RS 5 DTM** was out of action, as it was clear it was stopped still by the Wall of Champions.

For the most part for Luna, the race was going smoothly. Staying in the points was important and she watched the **Hudson's Bay BMW M4 DTM** exit the pit lane of which Luna saw quite far away. With the Audi out, this allowed Luna to bump up to 9th place again.

* * *

"_We are seeing fierce competition here in Canada, and for those of you who are just tuning in, the Mercedes-Benz racers are unstoppable. I think either one of those two will get the win here_," the broadcaster said. "_However, it is the battle for 3__rd__ that we are really interested in._"

The pit window had closed several laps later as the field sorted itself further. Changes in the lead occurred almost exclusively between the X-Tech Racing Mercedes, with the Red Bull Nissan, the EfficientDynamics BMW, and the Pepsi Honda battling it out for 3rd. Meanwhile, the Hudson's Bay Company BMW was leading ahead of the Belgian Audi Club Audi, the Oracle Nissan and its sister car the Microsoft Nissan.

But it happened in the final quarter of laps for the **Pepsi Honda NSX-GT**, when Percy O'Carroll attempted to fight out with Michelle Martinez's **Red Bull Nissan GT-R**, did he make a huge mistake.

Entering the final chicane, he attempted to slip into the chicane and cut past the Nissan on the outside curve, but unable to control just how fast he was going into the chicane the car eventually carried its speed forward and – inevitably – smashed against the Wall of Champions.

"Oh my gosh!" Percy roared, slamming his fists against the race wheel. Lucky for him the wheel didn't snap, and he had to unfasten the safety harnesses keeping him attached to his seat so he could exit the car.

"_Are you okay, Percy?_" the engineer radioed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Percy replied, trying to calm down as he may. "The car will need to have some parts replaced, though."

* * *

It wasn't before long that a dozen more cars had flown by him – albeit at a relatively slow speed because of the yellow flags. First the **Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM**, and then the **Oracle Nissan GT-R** (whom Percy suspected the driver must be laughing at him).

On the other hand, far ahead, the accident and yellow flags meant it looked like the Mercedes had the win in the bag. The safety car – a BMW M4 GTS – was deployed as the marshals with heavy equipment attempted to clean up the damage on what was the most dangerous section of track on Circuit Giles Villeneuve.

That went without saying the C1TM racers had to be notified of the incident as well.

"_Yellow flag_," Luna's radio sounded.

"Aw but at this rate we'll never get more points," Luna complained, as she swerved her car left and right to slow down and follow the Microsoft Nissan and the WRT Audi at a much slower pace. With only several laps to go, it seemed impossible to improve further.

"_But at least we'll pick up a double points finish. That's more than enough for the team_."

"I suppose you're right."

* * *

By the time the green flag went down, Maria knew she was in an excellent position for a podium finish. She rocketed forward to overtake the Red Bull Nissan on the opening straight to try to stay close to the Mercedes duo, but once again it was like the Mercedes were in a league of their own.

That is, they gained about a tenth of second for every sector, which was about three tenths of a second a lap. That was a lot of distance covered!

"_Push that pace, Maria. We'll get locked-in podium at this rate, even if you and Leon are 0.3 seconds a lap off the pace from the leaders_," Durant said.

Maria slammed her foot down to rev up the engine even more. It seemed like her car was trying to behave as furiously as she was – whether she flew by the next chicane, past the hairpin, and through the final chicane to barely graze the Wall of Champions.

As Maria tried to push the pace again, she was once again forced to slow down because of another yellow flag being waved at the start/finish straight. One of the Lexuses of Runway Racing, the number 16 **Tesco Lexus RC F**, had grinded to a halt on the grass – most due to the Wall of Champions.

After passing the straight, the marshals at the end were waving green flags again, and this time Maria took an opportunity to get closer to the Mercedes. With the Red Bull Nissan a ways behind her, perhaps this was the only shot of getting a podium. That is, if Maria didn't end up crashing her BMW on the Wall of Champions as well.

* * *

**And that's Race 3 of the Class One North America!**


End file.
